A Day of Mercy
by Slaycinder
Summary: It probably meant nothing to him. To act so kindly toward a perfect stranger seemed to come naturally to him, normal and unworthy of mention. But it meant the world to Riku. To him, a single day of mercy could outshine a lifetime of suffering. It might even free him completely. Who knows? Maybe that boy will be the one to lift his curse, and guide him to the light. SoRiku.
1. The Next Town

**Disclaimer: I don't own jack squat. :P**

**A/N: After a truckload of herp-derp fan fictions, I decided it was high time I tried writing something more involved. So here we are! **

**_Bon à lire!_**

**-Slay**

* * *

_A Day of Mercy_

Chapter 1

The Next Town

-o-o-o-

He knew no wrath greater than that of seaside storms.

Rain tore fiercely at the ragged cliffs, drenching the manse atop their crags in heavy sheets of ocean spray. The roaring of tempest winds moaned through cold stone walls, the crash of thunder deafening in empty rooms.

He watched lightning glance off of thrashing black waves from a cushioned window seat, ignoring the rattling of the panes with a dark trance clouding his thoughts.

"_You've inherited something terrible from me." _The words were stuck in his head like a layer of pitch. He couldn't forget the dreadful weight in his father's voice—his eyes dim and dense like the last, simmering streams of dusk. _"And there is nothing I can do to save you."_

He wrenched himself suddenly from the window, and crossed the chamber to his bed, where he had flung his father's last gift to him in a blind fit of pain. He curled up on the crisp duvet and spotted the trinket in a passing flash of lightning. He took it in his hands, thumbs cosseting the sharply-cut amulet like the knuckles of a loved one.

_"I'm going to die, Riku. And when I do, the curse that has plagued my days will become _your_ burden to bear until the day _you _die…which will not come as soon as you might like."_

While he hadn't been a very good one, Kira was his father, and the only family he had in the world; and to see him looking so old and weathered, practically decomposing in the sheets of his bed…it hurt. Deeply. No matter how many times he told himself he was better off without the man's harsh and loveless ways, Riku couldn't deny the fact that he was alone now. Their mansion held no servants, the surrounding land harbored no friendly faces. He was completely, unconditionally alone—and cursed.

_"There is a way to free yourself,"_ Kira had supplied, those unlit eyes suddenly soft and earnest. He watched Riku determinedly, voice temporarily strengthened by conviction. _"There's a darkness inherent in all men, son." _He'd glanced away quickly, seeming briefly ashamed. _"And some are more susceptible to it than others."_ He raised a shaking hand to the amulet resting on his chest, gripping it tightly. _" 'Free yourself from that darkness. Find your way to the light and let your heart be cleansed by it. Only then will the curse be lifted.' " _

With a clear amount of effort, Kira slid the lavaliere up around his head, holding it out for Riku to take. _"I never got it right. I never even understood what it meant." _He chuckled humorlessly. _"But maybe you'll be a better man than I was."_

Riku had let the amulet drop into his waiting hands, staring with wonder and sadness at the bauble he had never been allowed to touch. …and then it was over.

Kira lay still and lifeless on his bed, eyes left eerily open, confusing what Riku saw with what he knew to be true. His father was dead—and he was on his own. At nine years old.

That was when the storm had blown in.

He knew no wrath greater than that of seaside storms; and now he knew no ache more crushing than the vicious hole his father left. The impending loneliness; the helplessness rushing up like cold bile in his throat; the choke of tears he didn't want to cry. He lay in a ball atop his own bed, wondering after his own fate with the amulet clutched to his chest.

He knew nothing of the curse Kira had suffered—only that it drove the man into hiding every night, and held him there until daybreak.

Riku peeked at his window, but the sun was impossible to find beyond the overhang of slate-colored storm clouds. Sunset couldn't be far off—he had spent the entire day doting on his dying father, daylight dwindling further and further each time he looked outside.

So it was coming. That terrible thing that plagued his father and sealed his own grim future was creeping up on him with every passing minute, and he had no idea what it was.

Riku changed for the first time that night, and the events that followed would forever be crowned as the most hellish of his memories; and they would haunt the corners of his mind for many years to come.

-o-o-o-

Riku had discovered early on that he didn't age very quickly. Shortly following his father's death, he'd found himself in the care of a kindly woman named Hama who resided in a town several miles south of the mansion. After finding him in the forest, worse for wear and completely lost, Hama took him into her home with open arms, fully intent on keeping him, since she herself couldn't have children. Once Riku had recovered from his bout in the wilderness, Hama insisted that he go to school, and Riku didn't object—after several days of loneliness, he was more than willing to surround himself with people, especially other children.

It didn't work out as nicely as he would have liked.

Sneaking out every night to hide his curse from Hama was bad—but when she started to notice his lack of development, Riku knew he'd have to leave. He had been living with Hama for just over three years when she voiced her concerns, citing that Riku hadn't gained an inch or an ounce since she took him in. She fretted that she hadn't been feeding him properly, or that he might be sick with something incurable, but Riku knew better; Kira had hinted at the curse drawing out his lifespan, and he assumed that meant his growth spurts, too.

He left Hama's house that very night, and didn't return.

From then on, Riku resigned himself to a life on the move, spending no longer than a couple of months in any given place. As he finally grew physically older, it became easier to slip through communities without attracting attention, without getting ensnared by orphanages and overly-benevolent households.

In fact, as time passed, people seemed less and less interested in him. To them he was just another stray dog, an untethered adolescent who ghosted down the streets during the day and vanished during the night. They may have been drawn at first to the uncommon moonlight shine of his hair, but once they felt the solemnity of his electric blue stare, they flinched and turned away, pretending they had never seen him at all. That was for the best; he wasn't in much of a position to make friends—or enemies.

Every night, Riku changed into something…else. Something much less presentable than a young man in the eyes of society. Something frightening; something dangerous.

The tremors started immediately after the sun slipped over the horizon, pulling the last few strips of daylight from his skin. They rippled and squirmed impatiently in his bones, churning and amplifying, shredding up through layers of flesh until the burning consumed his every nerve.

Then the snapping started. Deep sickening cracks would pop in his ears as his body achingly rent itself apart, breaking and rattling and rebuilding into something new—muscle tearing, skin stretching, his thoughts blinded by white-hot pain; it was awful. And it happened every night—and every morning. To his dismay, the frequency of the transformation made it no more tolerable, and did very little to settle the anxiety he felt anticipating it.

As a result, Riku worked vigorously to keep himself busy, right up until that last wink of sunset, so that by the time he returned to his hideout, he would have very little time to fret. The transformation would start, and then it'd be over, and then he could sleep right through his hours as a creature. That was the plan each night, and it was just fine by him.

His time was often monopolized by odd jobs—mostly heavy lifting and other grunt work for anyone willing to pay him. He'd get the task done quickly and efficiently, and then use the money to gorge himself on food, because God forbid he be hungry when nighttime came. The creature inside him didn't like being hungry, and had a very aggressive way of showing it.

The rest of his time was spent sight-seeing and thinking too much—hobbies which occasionally spilled into his work.

Fingers snapping.

"Hey boy'o," a quirky old voice hedged. "Everything hunky dory over here?"

Riku blinked a few times, then noticed he was holding a rather large box in his arms. He didn't even remember picking it up. He must have zoned out again. Crap.

"Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. Sorry."

"Deep thoughts?"

Riku hesitated, shifting his weight around under the burden in his arms. "I guess you could say that," he said finally, licking his lips and focusing on the newly-built garage he was supposed to be loading boxes into. He cleared his throat at the silence, and started tramping toward the garage again.

"..I really appreciate your help, kiddo," the old man called after him. " 'been meaning to move this junk for months, but I never had the strength t'do it myself."

After unloading the box in a corner of the garage, Riku marched back into the house, bee-lining for the next box. "Sure thing, Mr. Jenkins."

"You sure thirty munny is enough?" Mr. Jenkins watched Riku passing back and forth with soft concern. "Some of those are awfully heavy—and I'm sure you've got better things to do."

_Hardly. _Riku piled the last three boxes on top of one another, then hefted them with ease across the garage before depositing them in a corner with the rest. "Thirty is fine; I don't need much."

"Well, if you say so…" As Riku approached him, Mr. Jenkins produced an orange munny pouch and held it out to him.

"I may have tossed a little bonus in there for a job well done," he admitted slyly. "Who would of thought you'd get done in forty-five minutes flat? This would'a taken me _hours."_

"If you're gonna do a job, you should do it well," Riku replied mechanically, stowing the pouch in his jacket pocket.

Mr. Jenkins nodded plainly, a splash of something uncertain looming behind his pleasant smile. "Well, you take care, boy'o. Thanks again."

"Sure." Riku inclined his chin in farewell, then turned and sauntered out of the garage, feeling Mr. Jenkins' eyes on his back until he was well down the street. It might have touched his heart that the man was so clearly worried about him if he weren't so sure Mr. Jenkins' attitudes would change completely upon learning what Riku really was. Everyone else's kindness shriveled up and died—why shouldn't Mr. Jenkins'?

It didn't matter.

He wouldn't be here long, and the geezer would probably forget about him in a week anyway.

These thoughts hung in his head like a funeral shroud, souring his mood until his entire body reeked of despair. He slouched and pulled his hood up, the blaring summer sun boxing him into his own isolated pod of darkness. People stared as he trudged by, amazed that anyone could be wearing long jeans and a black jacket in eighty-degree weather.

It wasn't Riku's fault. He was cold-blooded; and rather than heat his skin, the kiss of sunlight merely stung it, a sensation that was virtually painless but very _very _annoying. So he dressed conservatively. Hang the wardrobe of the season.

What was more, he hadn't been anywhere this warm in a long time—he didn't _own _anything lighter.

Riku wasn't entirely sure what had lured him to this cluster of tropical islands in the first place. It certainly wasn't his being sick of cold weather—the freezing north suited him just fine. Maybe he needed a change of scenery.

The Destiny Islands were as _tropical _as they came, surrounded by crisp cyan waters and bursting with lush jungles, palm trees and small, quiet neighborhoods that melted agreeably in the sultry climate. On the northern ridge of the mainland, atop a high westward cliff, perched the tall and sunny buildings of Twilight Town, where he had run into Mr. Jenkins earlier that morning. Upon agreeing to move the boxes into his garage for a modest price, Riku had asked if there was any other work lying around. Mr. Jenkins had replied, "Oh there's always someone who could use a hand. 'specially around this time of year."

What, June? Riku would readily admit that he didn't know anything about the local holidays of the places he'd lived. And frankly, he didn't care. He himself had very few reasons to celebrate, and he saw no point in piggybacking off another's happiness; it wouldn't come from within. It wouldn't mean anything. So he canceled it out.

Though he supposed that if a holiday _were _coming up, people _would _be busier than usual, and possibly more willing to toss some cash his way for the grit-work they didn't want to do. Mr. Jenkins had suggested he swing by Market Street, "Folks post Help Wanted signs there all the time; if you want a little walk-around munny, that's the place to check."

Well he was certainly right about the signs. After several minutes of sifting through unfamiliar streets, Riku came across the broad and sloping thoroughfare of Market Street, where he did indeed find a bulletin board plastered with busywork. Raking over the invocations, Riku decided that keeping himself occupied until sundown wouldn't be a problem. He was about to rip down the directions to some dockhand job when he was startled by a scream. He looked up in time to see someone topple from the roof of a nearby building, hurtling dangerously toward the ground.

* * *

**A/N: Oh noes! Day one in a new town and already people are falling from the sky! Who could it be? And what were they doing on the roof in the first place? Will Riku be able to save them? Will he even give a crap? Find out, in CHAPTER 2! **

**Review for a Chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a Chakram to the face!**

**-Slay**


	2. The Boy With Blue Eyes

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. LEAVE ME ALONE! D;**

**_Bon à lire!_**

**-Slay**

* * *

_A Day of Mercy_

Chapter 2

The Boy With Blue Eyes

-o-o-o-

Sunlight bit his face again, the sudden blast of wind throwing back his hood as he flashed across the street, grabbing the falling body and rolling over the ground, taking the impact on his back and barely feeling it. Once he'd righted himself, Riku looked down at the person he'd caught—a teenaged boy with wild brown hair and a blindfold over his eyes.

Well. That explained why he fell off the roof.

Shaking hands had worried themselves into his shirt; Riku plucked them off, setting the boy on the ground and leaning back on his heels. "Where I come from, we know better than to wear blindfolds on the roof," he clipped.

The boy pouted and tried to wrestle the dark cloth from his eyes. "I didn't know I was _on _the roof," he huffed. He yanked on the blindfold from all sides, but apparently it had been wrapped way too tightly around his head. He fumbled with the knot in the back, but made no progress. "Ugh! Dangit, why'd he tie it so tight?"

Riku rolled his eyes and burrowed his fingertips under the knot, wrenching the blindfold up and off in one quick motion. He tossed the length of cloth aside and fixed the boy with a derogative look—but it didn't last.

With the blindfold gone, the boy was left to blink away the onslaught of light, his eyes ample and round beneath sprays of lush black lashes, valiant and blue as the clearest summer skies. A dazzling smile spilled over his youthful face. "Thanks!"

"Uh…Yeah…" Riku realized he was staring and slammed his eyes shut. He cleared his throat and got to his feet, burying his hands in his jean pockets.

"Oh my God!"

The shout came from above, and when the two looked up they saw a distraught blonde leaning over the ledge of the roof. "Sora!" He cried. "Are you hurt? I'll be right down!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Sora scrambled to his feet and waved at the blonde, who nodded frantically before ducking out of sight, allegedly on his way down from the roof. Not even five seconds later, that same blonde came tearing out of the first floor entrance, barreling over to Sora and crushing him in a hug. He took a step back and held the brunette by the shoulders, looking him up and down worriedly. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I was trying to find my soda—I thought it was close enough to grab with the blindfold on, but I guess I got turned around and ended up on the roof," Sora recounted sheepishly. "I completely forgot about the open door, and wandered out here…Heh, maybe playing videogames blindfolded _wasn't _the best idea…"

"Wait, you really did _fall _off the _roof?"_

"Yeah, but I didn't get hurt thanks to _this_ guy—hey, where're you going?"

Riku had decided that he was done here, having spared the street cleaners a pretty grisly job, and was crossing back to the billboard, dedicated to checking out that dockhand job before the day got away from him.

"Hey! Hey, wait up—I'll be right back, Roxas—C'mon, man, hold on a sec!"

Riku ignored him, ripping the flier from the billboard and inspecting it. The docks were back by the eastern edge of town, along the northern coastline—he remembered passing them on his way in—and it looked like all they needed was a strong back for moving freight. The work was right up his alley, and the pay was acceptable, so he folded up the flier and stuffed it in his pocket.

"You sure are in a hurry!" Sora had caught up to him and was now following him down Market Street.

"What do you want?" Riku trudged along without looking at the brunette, pulling his hood back over his head when he felt the sun's familiar burn on his scalp.

"I was just gonna thank you for saving my life," Sora replied earnestly. "It's not the kind of thing people take lightly, y'know."

"Hmph."

There was suddenly a hand hoisted out in front of him, the brunette trotting along at his side and smiling amiably. "I'm Sora."

"I heard."

Sora dropped his hand, but didn't give up. "I don't think I've seen you before—are you new in town?"

"What do you care?"

"Well, my family moved here when I was seven, and I remember how scary it was being in a new place and not knowing anybody—other than my brothers, but they don't really count 'cause—"

"I'm not seven years old," Riku snapped, quickening his pace in the hopes of shaking this chatterbox.

"No, but it can still get pretty lonely," Sora countered, keeping up with him easily. "I was just thinking we could be friends. Then, if you needed anything, you could just come to me, and that way I could pay you back for saving me."

After realizing that this guy wasn't letting up, Riku sighed and came to a stop. "Look," he said flatly, "I'm just passing through, okay? And don't be so clingy—it drives people off."

Sora didn't seem to register the second half of his statement. "Oh! Are you here for the festival?"

"Festival?"

"Yeah! The summer solstice is in a couple weeks. Every year there's this huge festival all over the islands that lasts for a whole week!" His face lit up suddenly. "You should come celebrate with us! It'll be so much fun!"

"Pass."

The boy's flamboyant expression dampened. "Oh, you already have plans, huh?"

"…Yeah." Riku lied. "Big plans. Sorry." He started moving forward, and was disturbed to find Sora still following him—and smiling._ Again. _There was just no _squashing _this guy, was there?

"Well, that's okay," Sora beamed. "It's a pretty big festival. I'm sure we'll see each other all over the place!"

"Oh, _joy."_

"Are you doing the Charge to Sunrise this year?"

"The what?"

Sora gaped at him. "You don't know about the Charge?" He leapt out in front of Riku, cutting off his already unsuccessful attempt at retreat. "You should join our team! It'd be awesome! Oh! Do you like sports? You could play in the tournament with us too!"

"Are you always this annoying?"

Sora laughed good-naturedly. "Sorry. I guess I _do _come on a little strong." He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned bashfully. "It's just, we don't get a lot of fresh faces out here."

_I can see why. _Riku was beyond done with this guy, and would seriously reconsider saving people from now on if _this _was the thanks he got. "I have to be somewhere," he said bluntly.

Sora shook his head. "Say no more—I should be getting back now anyway." He stepped to the side, _finally _letting Riku pass. "But I'll see you around, okay, pal?"

"Yeah, sure." He was so close to escape—_so _close; but then Sora called after him, "Hey, you never told me your name!"

He paused, lowering his hood so he could glance over his shoulder at the boy watching him expectantly. Nowadays, he normally kept that sort of stuff to himself—so as not to put down roots anywhere, to avoid loose ends that might come back to bite him…but something about those brilliant blue eyes got to him.

"…Riku," he replied softly. "My name is Riku."

-o-o-o-

"_C'mon, Riku! Come play ball with us!"_

_The rough wood of his bedroom door pressed against his back…twilight cutting through his window… _

"_No, I…I'm not allowed out past dark. Hama says it's too dangerous…"_

"_Aw, but it's barely sundown…I know! I'll get my big brother to come along. It'll be safer then, right? We can go ask Hama for you—"_

"_Don't worry about it! It's fine…I…I have schoolwork to do anyway."_

"…_If you say so…" _

_Footsteps finally padding down the hallway... _

"_C'mon, guys…I don't think Riku _likes_ us anymore…"_

He couldn't believe what was going through his head. After all these years—after all the terrified faces and the betrayals, after all the friendships he'd had to suffocate just to protect everyone; to protect himself…he still had the nerve to hope. It was pathetic.

He'd met so many people crowned with a halo of apparent kindness; people he'd warmed up to, come to trust and like. People he'd tried—truly _tried _to shield from the truth, but had failed; people who saw what he really was and scorned him for it. That boy would be no different.

He'd figured that if he could just keep his secret well, _secret, _then he might stand a chance of holding on to someone. …But humans were a curious bunch. The more walls you built around something precious, the harder they worked to break in and see it. Well, they saw it, alright. Every single one of them, no matter what lengths he went to short of leaving forever. Most of them just shrieked and ran, others actually attacked. Either way, they all met unfortunate ends—which was the last thing he wanted.

He supposed it simply couldn't be helped; people couldn't care for him when they didn't understand him—and that included Sora.

…But once they understood him…

Riku sighed to himself, wandering down Market Street with his hood up and his head down. He clenched and unclenched his fists in his pockets, glaring at the pavement. _Don't let him fool you. When it comes right down to it, he'll run. Just like everyone else. How could he possibly be any different?_

A certain ache rose in his chest at such thoughts, a cold and certain pain that always seemed to spring up when reality came crashing down on him. He let it grow, let it churn, let it pull him down and down until the sunlight couldn't reach him through his own skin…

"I see you've met Sora."

Riku wouldn't have paid the guy a single glance if not for the mention of that name—he hated that his head snapped up at the sound of it, like a dog heeling to the call for dinner. Ugh.

He looked over at the speaker, a tall and rangy redhead—literally, his hair was _red, _like a freaking strawberry—propped in the entryway to a music store he'd been passing. Before he could stop himself, Riku huffed, "It was hard _not _to."

This earned him a laugh from Mr. Strawberry. "Yeah, he's a bit of a doozey." He popped a toothpick between his teeth and gnashed on it for a moment. "Nothin' like the other two."

Good God, there were _more _of them? Well, thinking back, Sora _had _mentioned something about brothers…

"He's a good kid, though."

"What?"

There was a pause while the redhead ground the toothpick in the corner of his mouth, seemingly bent on biting the thing in two. "Sora," he reiterated. "He's a good kid. A little perky for my taste, but I give credit where credit is due—guy's got a heart the size of this entire island."

"That's nice. Now if you don't mind, I have to go—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," the redhead held out a hand to stop him—Riku was growing _really _tired of being _stopped. _"Where's the fire, stranger?"

"Is everyone here this _obnoxious?" _Riku didn't go out of his way to be callous, but, come on, was it just him, or were these people _clingy? _None of them seemed to respect the sanctity of silence between strangers, which was something he relied on to navigate the world undisturbed. Everybody _else _got it! Why were people around here so…_friendly?_

"You call it _obnoxious," _the redhead quipped, "_we _call it _hospitality."_

"Hmph."

The redhead flipped his toothpick around, having gnawed one end of it all to hell. "I like you," he smiled. "Sulky, sarcastic, secretly nice—"

"Who said I was nice?"

"You did, when you rescued Sora without a second thought."

"Ugh."

"Anywho," the redhead continued, his speech slightly garbled by his devoted toothpick-chewing. "You seem like a cool guy. …Name's Axel. A-X-E-L." He tapped a finger to his temple, "Commit it to memory."

Riku rolled his eyes. "I'll work on that. Now, can I please _go? _I've been trying to get somewhere for _thirty minutes._"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Axel waved dismissively, finally spitting the butchered toothpick out of his mouth and leaning into the store. "Demyx, will you hurry up? I'm starvin' out here!"

* * *

**A/N: Ah, typical me; can't go two chapters without my Axel. ^-^**

**Review for a chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**TTFN, ta ta for now!**

**-Slay**


	3. Isolation

**Disclaimer: **何もを擁すらないよ。**There. I said it in Japanese. Satisfied? I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Stop reminding me.**

**A/N: I don't really have anything to say other than WOO! CHAPTER 3! I couldn't post it directly after I finished it because my internet hates me, but if you're reading this, the internet fairy must have come while I was sleeping and fixed it.**

**SO. I am super psyched that this story is actually getting written! I usually have really bad commitment issues with chappies… *cough* But best not to jinx it, right? ONWARD HO!**

****This chapter especially is rated T for graphic imagery. Poor Riku. Why can't I ever be nice to him? OTL *flings an adorable Sora at him* PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! Dx**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 3

Isolation

-o-o-o-

When Riku finally made it to his hideout, he was pressed for time; sunlight was receding from the island like a golden tide, and already his skin was starting to itch underneath, a reliable warning sign. Trying his best to hurry without seeming overly suspicious, he tore through the dense forests just south of Twilight Town, eventually coming up on the stately and decaying façade of the abandoned mansion nestled in its depths.

He scaled the mansion's locked wrought-iron gate and sailed across the courtyard, busting his way through the front doors and slamming them shut behind him. The itch was sharpening into pain, tremors starting to rattle his bones—any time now.

Working past the rising pain, Riku crossed the atrium and raced up a winding staircase, arriving in a dusty old bedroom where he immediately set to stripping down , save for the amulet Kira had given him around his neck.

Not ten seconds after he'd tossed his clothes on the stale surface of the bed did the first snap seize his spine, causing him to cry out and stumble backward.

Day had fallen from the window, leaving him to suffer his curse in the fresh darkness.

_ God, he was hungry. Starving, even. He had never felt this obscenely famished in his entire life—the ravenous ache was grating harshly against his stomach, threatening to shred it open in its ruthless craving. It didn't matter that this body was foreign to him; long and winding, so laden with power that he couldn't tap—he had to eat something. Anything. Whatever he could find and sink these new, merciless teeth into…_

The night exploded around him, lights popping behind his eyes, a shrill ringing jarring his head while everything spun and lurched beyond control. His senses ran wild, careening out of his grip, spiraling, crashing, his sanity outrunning him with every passing second.

_Somewhere in the deepest cracks of his mind he knew this was wrong. A single shard of reason survived beneath the folds of this murderous craving, and it was shooting off pleas like flares—Villagers! Innocent people who've never wronged you, never even _met _you! They don't deserve this! No one does! What are you doing, Riku? This isn't you! Stop it! Please! STOP!_

Splintering wood and crashing glass—his new body unfolded chaotically in the small room, thrashing and writhing without grace or guidance, strangled cries tearing out of an inhuman throat.

_But he couldn't stop._

_He couldn't even imagine stopping._

_The hunger was so raw and raging—so rooted in his very survival that it couldn't be ignored; it couldn't even be questioned. The hunger was deep and desperate. He needed food. He needed blood. He needed to feel the fire's caustic edges on his frozen skin. He needed to feel the symphony of power in his muscles as they rolled and whipped, the moonlight gleaming clean and pale in his eyes._

_ They were just lowly villagers. They couldn't hold a candle to the hunger roiling inside of him. _

_ Just villagers._

_ They were nothing to him._

_ Nothing but a sweet escape from brutal starvation._

Things had finally shifted. Riku lay sprawled out and exhausted on the bedroom floor, piled around the queen-sized bed in a great silver heap. Everything was good and sore now, from the narrow angles of his snout to the tip of his tail, which was somewhere on the other side of the room, far across a sea of lithe and curling hide.

He rustled his limbs vaguely, adjusting to his skin like fingers to a glove, invoking a quiet wave of pain that faded shortly after. Hunger rattled up through his parched throat, giving him a chill.

_The next morning he awoke to the grim and bloated aftermath of massacre, bathed in red. The sight of the bodies sprayed around mutilated buildings horrified him, and the epiphany of his own guiltiness made him sick to his stomach._

_ He felt so cold. The tears were searing on his face, the bile a fire in his throat._

He was well aware of the amulet still strung around his neck, its long chain better suited to the size of this body. He hadn't been wearing it that first night—he'd left it on the duvet of his bed after the transformation racked him and threw him into the night, stir-crazy and yearning for blood. The day following his night of slaughter, he'd returned to the family manse and put the necklace on as an act of sentiment, only to discover later on that it actually helped.

The amulet acted to sate the roaring hunger that drove this beast inside him, freeing him from the fog of animalistic rage and giving him the gift of control.

He didn't quite understand how the thing worked, or how Kira had even come by it in the first place, but he didn't really care. If it kept him from ripping innocent people limb from limb, he was satisfied.

That amulet was his most prized possession. He never took it off—ever. He avoided any situations that may require its removal, and guarded it meticulously from damage and rust. He polished the silver casing of the lavaliere regularly, gently shining the crisp green gem until its depths glimmered.

The trinket thumped against his chest as he shifted, organizing the serpentine length of his body onto four crouched legs more comfortably. Once situated, he let his attention rest on the hoary moonlight spilling from the window, his mind finally at a colorless sort of peace now that he was alone.

_There is a way to free yourself. _

Over a hundred and thirty years had passed, and Kira's dying words still resided in his head, clear as crystal.

_There's a darkness inherent in all men…And some are more susceptible to it than others. Free yourself from that darkness…_

That part had always confused Riku. He understood that everyone was prone to certain demons in one way or another, but wasn't he a special case? What with this curse that was dumped on him by bad genes and worse luck? How was he supposed to free himself from a darkness that was harnessed inside of him like that? It wasn't like there were some magic words he could chant—he couldn't just up and banish the curse from his bones like a house fly from a kitchen. What was he supposed to do?

_Find your way to the light and let your heart be cleansed by it. Only then will the curse be lifted._

And what the hell was _that _supposed to mean? Find his way to_ what _light? He assumed it had something to do with being good and pure to other people. But how was he supposed to do that with everyone scrambling left and right just to _get away _from him? Or worse yet, _attacking _him? How could he be around people—let alone get _close _to any of them—when they saw him as nothing but an awful monstrosity? What was the logic there?

The answer was simple; there _was _no logic. The curse wasn't _meant _to be lifted. It was just a vicious cycle of pain and betrayal, and he was going to be saddled with it for the rest of his not-so natural-born life…

Riku rested his head on the floor, averting his eyes from the window and leering instead at the broken drawers of a dusty bachelor chest on the other side of the room.

He was too durable to die and too dead inside to live.

There just wasn't any point. All he could do was cling to the shadows and try not to be a blight on the world.

He snorted despondently, riling up a cloud of dust along the floor.

At least when he died alone, the curse would go with him. Then no one else would have to put up with this ungodly torture.

The usual veil of misery was draping itself over his heart, and a dreary, dreamless sleep was just around the corner when something sprung up in Riku's mind, completely distracting him from his moping.

Wild brown hair and eyes as valiant and blue as the clearest summer skies.

_Sora. _

He was startled by the sudden way his heart clenched, and even more by the weird salve of feelings that washed over it, clearing away the cobwebs his depression had been avidly spinning.

He knew it was a terrible idea to get attached, but it couldn't be helped. Sora had made an impression on him. Whether befriending him would work out or not…he didn't want to think about that. Oddly enough, he was perfectly content thinking about Sora. Just Sora; and how much of that boy's exuberant, sunny self he'd seen in the brief time they'd been together, how stark his amiable nature was compared to the drab cold shoulders Riku usually got.

As they bloomed in his mind, these thoughts flooded him with something strange; something completely foreign to this icebox of a body he lived in: a soft, sweet warmth. A dash of happiness that soothed him easily to sleep, where those brilliant blue eyes never once left his side.

* * *

**A/N: So, either the curse is a real bitch of a Catch 22, or, Riku's a cotton-headed ninny-muggins who doesn't understand the concept of symbolism.**

***sniff* **

**Chapter 4 soon to come! Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following! I love you all!**

**Review for a chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**Until we meet again!**

**-Slay**


	4. The Day of Mercy

**Disclaimer: I still don't claim to own anything. *sigh* As much as I'd love to own Axel, that'd be human trafficking, and that's usually frowned upon by the Establishment. D;**

**A/N: Nothing new to report; here's chapter 4! Hopefully this chapter will be a nice break from all that doom 'n' gloom from chapter 3. Please forgive any stupid spelling/grammar mistakes—I finished this bad boy at 1:00am. I'll clean it up later if I have to. *cough* ONWARD!**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 4

The Day of Mercy

-o-o-o-

When morning broke, Riku was kicked out of the first notable dream he'd had in a long time—much to his agitation.

He'd been sailing tormented black seas on a lone raft, watching with dismay as the world flickered out, leaving him to die in the squalling waves. Yet while the tempest tore around him, something poked through the rampaging abyss: a suffocated gasp of light that seemed miles away. The next thing he knew, Sora was there beside him with that stupid, amazing smile on his face, one of his hands pointing toward the gasp of light, the other reaching out to Riku.

Riku was about to take his hand when—_bam. _Blades of sun raked across his human face and snapped him awake. He was already groggy, and when he realized just what going through his head, he swore at himself. What the hell was Sora doing in his dreams? And why was he so reluctant to wake from them?

"Dammit."

He stood up and moved through the morning glow to pull on his clothes, tucking the amulet safely beneath his shirt. His stomach growled. Good. Something trivial to take his mind off of its inevitable plunge into dementia. He double-checked the munny in his pocket before leaving the mansion, slipping over the front gate and heading back toward town.

-o-o-o-

With his stomach full and the whole day ahead of him, Riku took to wandering around and doing exactly what he hated doing: thinking.

Rather, he was focusing really hard on _not _thinking.

About Sora.

Dammit.

He grimaced at the pavement under his steps. What the hell was wrong with him? How had he not learned his lesson? He'd been burned so many times before, and still his heart found the audacity to play with fire.

It didn't matter how many times he relived the past failures, or envisioned the petrified faces of people he loved, or recalled the gruesome way the monster lashed out when he was so deeply hurt…he couldn't stop himself from latching on to shallow glimmers of kindness when he saw them. How _stupid _could he_ get?_

Axel was probably right; Sora was probably just as endearing and kindhearted as he seemed. He was probably benevolent and forgiving. He was probably a wonderful friend to have.

But how wonderful…how kindhearted…how _forgiving _would he be when he came face-to-face with the stuff of nightmares—a massive, carnivorous monster framed by scary, unattractive myths? How benevolent would he be toward those murderous teeth, or those intrinsically cold eyes? With adrenaline pumping through him, throwing up red flags and screaming from his every nerve to escape, would he even remember who it was behind those eyes?

…No.

No, he wouldn't. Fear would choke his kindness to death and stamp out every good feeling he had. His memories of who Riku really was would shrivel up and crumble to dust, and all he would know was terror. Those spectacular blue eyes would freeze over and run away. And it would start all over again.

It was for that reason—that brutal reason that should have put all of his temptations to rest—that he had to avoid Sora. He had to wrap things up in this town and leave before he got too attached. It was already going to be hard, but the sooner he took off, the faster he would get over it.

Riku stopped walking and nodded his head determinedly, having officially decided to get the hell out of here before he could make the same stupid mistake again. He would round up some supplies, scrape together some extra cash, and leave in the dead of night—all without running into Sora. Yes. He could do that. Easy. After all, Twilight Town wasn't _that _small, and he wasn't anywhere near the place where he'd met Sora. Honestly, what were the chances of running into him again so soon?

"Hi, Riku!"

"Oh, hey Sora." …

Wait, what?

Riku looked up to find the flamboyant brunette he was hell-bent on avoiding standing right in front of him and jumped.

"_Where the hell did you come from?"_

Sora glanced to the sky thoughtfully. "We—ll, I rolled outta bed, I got _dressed…_Oh! Had eggs for breakfast…Brushed my teeth…a—nd now I'm here!" He smiled brightly and rocked on his heels, bouncing where he stood. Did he really have that much energy?

Riku rubbed his right eye to stop it from twitching. "Well…Well what do you want?" He grumbled.

"I saw you standing here by yourself and thought maybe you were lost or something," Sora explained, swinging his arms lazily. "Do you need directions anywhere? I'd be happy to help."

Uncharacteristically flustered, Riku crossed his arms and glared at a store sign across the way: _Moogle Mike's Bakery. _"I-I don't—I'm not lost!"

"Are you sure? It's not a big town, but there're a lot of nooks and crannies, y'know? And sometimes the streets get all wacked up." Sora chuckled. "Even _I _get a little turned-around sometimes."

Oh _that _was comforting.

"I think I'll manage," Riku grunted defiantly, though the more he looked around, the less oriented he felt. Maybe directions weren't a bad idea… No. No, no, _no. _This was the guy he was trying to stay away from. If he wanted directions, he could get them from someone else. Someone who wasn't so…_Sora._

"You want a tour?"

Riku blinked. "What?"

"A tour," Sora repeated, linking his hands behind his head. "—of the town. You're new around here, and I said I'd help any way I could. If I gave you a tour, you wouldn't have to worry about getting lost."

"I'm _not lost!"_

Sora grinned shrewdly. "Never said you were. I just mean as a future reference, a tour might be pretty helpful."

Riku frowned. "Thanks but no thanks. I've got stuff to do." He maneuvered around the boy and started walking, completely unsurprised when Sora followed after him.

"Really? But it's Saturday. What could you possibly have going on?"

"Like it's any of _your _business."

"Ooh, _someone's _not a morning person."

"Isn't there someone _else _you could annoy today? My schedule's full."

Sora was chortling at him. "Are you always this charming?"

After a minute or so of walking, with Riku huffing unhappily and Sora springing along like he _wasn't _trampling someone else's personal boundaries into the dust, the brunette pointed to one of the buildings and said, "That's the Moogle Mart where my older brother works. He started there a couple months ago, and I remember him talking about this one guy who used to come in every day for pretzels…"

-o-o-o-

"…and if you kept going that way, you'd get to Central Station. There's this really cool clock tower there where you can watch the sun set over the water. Rox took me up there once. The view is pretty amazing, but I'm not a fan of heights, so…"

Riku wasn't one hundred percent sure how he'd let himself get roped into a two-hour tour of Twilight Town, but by the time it was done, he found he didn't really regret it. Sora was actually pretty knowledgeable about the town's layout, and seemed to have an embellished story about every spot (which was probably the reason it took two hours to circle the town).

After popping from store to store in Tram Common—where Riku had definitely _not _gotten completely lost—the two of them had stopped by the Sandlot to watch people beat the snot out of each other with blue bats. "It's called Struggle," Sora elaborated, pointing from player to player as he briefly described the rules. "Roxas and his friends enter tournaments every summer. They're pretty good at it. You and I should try it sometime!"

Sora had also divulged quite a bit about his family. Apparently he lived with his mother and two brothers: Roxas, his twin ("I'm four minutes older, though."), and Cloud, who was the eldest of the three and only in town until something went through on the other side of the island.

"Do you have any siblings, Riku?"

"Oh, no."

From there they proceeded through Station Heights and down Market Street, which was a different experience now that Riku was coming to recognize his surroundings. They passed a crooked back alley, which apparently acted as a shortcut to Sora's house ("You should come visit! Ours is the one with the blue door.").

In the end, they wound up in Sunset Terrace, a sunny outcrop of buildings on a plaza overlooking the sea, cut by narrow canals and a single tramline. Sora insisted they grab treats of some kind, and even though he openly expressed his disinterest, Riku shortly found himself in possession of a sunglow sweet called 'paopu sherbet'. He made a face at it, which caused Sora to pout and nudge him in the arm. "C'mon, try it," he implored. "You'll like it."

"Hmph."

Riku was about to discard the frivolous thing when Sora disappeared from sight. He paused, turning around in confusion and finding Sora standing a few feet back. He was about to ask what was up, but the look on Sora's face stopped him dead.

In spite of himself, Riku already thought Sora's eyes were stunning, being so blue and honeyed and big…but now they had melted into zaffre pools, glazed and smooth with almost-tears, holding Riku completely captive from under bashful black lashes. Sora stood slumped, defeated, clinging delicately to his own cup of sherbet like a berated child. "Please, Riku?" His voice was so soft and small, his lower lip pushed out pitifully.

Riku's heart lurched; for a moment the breath was sucked right out of his chest, and all he could see was Sora standing there, completely dejected with those damn disarming eyes of his. Riku couldn't physically blush, but if he could, he was pretty sure this was where he'd do it. He hauled his eyes off of Sora and glared down at the paopu sherbet he was readily going to toss, ignoring the racing pulse in his veins. "Fine," he grunted. "If it means _that much _to you—"

Before he could finish, Riku's mouth was invaded by something cold and flavorful. Sora had taken the liberty of slipping a spoonful of his own sherbet between Riku's lips, the usual, stupid smile having returned to his face like nothing happened.

"Agh! Soohwah!" Riku flailed to knock Sora's hand away, annoyed. That whole thing with the eyes and the pout and the _please _had been a rouse! And he had fallen for it! And—and that sherbet stuff actually tasted pretty good. Sweet with a pinch of tropical tang, its texture smooth against his tongue. His expression must have changed, because Sora burst out laughing.

"Good, right?"

Riku composed himself and cleared his throat, glancing at the cup of sherbet in his hand. "It's _okay," _he shrugged.

He finished the whole thing.

-o-o-o-

Late afternoon found them leaning over the railing of Sunset Hill, watching the ocean rustle and shine like crystalline silk beneath a brazen, cloudless sky. Riku had dropped his hood, finding with surprise that the sunlight felt heavy and warm against his skin, rather than sharp and uncomfortable. He thought it extremely strange, but couldn't really bring himself to care at the moment. A sultry breeze swept up from the coast, brushing them with the salty breath of the sea. Sora hummed into the wind and smiled. "Good festival weather."

"Mm."

"Speaking of which…" Sora flicked away the brown tufts that had strayed into his eyes. He gave Riku a sideways look. "Are you sure you don't wanna spend the Summer Festival with us? It really will be a lot of fun—way better than spending the week alone."

Riku snorted. "How do you know I'm gonna be alone all week?"

"Are you gonna be alone all week?"

"_No._"

Sora smirked. "You're a terrible liar."

Riku started, alarmed by the solid sagacity that had settled in Sora's face. His mouth was curved wryly, and after a second he quirked an eyebrow at Riku's silence. When it became painfully obvious that there would be no rebuttal, Sora returned his attention to the ocean. "It's all in your eyes," he said. "They don't match what you're saying at all."

Officially disturbed and a little violated, Riku threw up his hood and leaned heavily on the railing, looking anywhere but at the brunette who was, apparently, more shrewd than Riku gave him credit for. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to react. No one had ever called his bluff before, let alone someone he'd known for barely two days. It was vexing. Every time things started to clear up, Sora came and tossed a wrench in the works, and Riku had no idea what to do about it.

He was startled at first by the sound of Sora's voice, and then again by the words he was speaking;

"I don't know what happened to you, Riku," he said softly. "And I don't expect you to ever tell me, but…" He turned his head and ensnared Riku in those eyes again, a sincere half of a smile lingering on his lips. "I do want us to be friends. And I don't want you to go on thinking everyone's against you just because of how one person hurt you in the past."

Blue eyes drifted back to the sea they so resembled. "There are plenty of good people out there. You just can't give up looking for them, y'know? …Anyway…I guess what I'm trying to say is…whatever _they _did to you…" His smile came back fully-fledged, lighting his face with an amiable warmth. "I'll never do. I promise."

Riku couldn't stop himself from scoffing.

"What?"

"Like I've never heard _that _one before."

"…Riku…"

He didn't dare look over at Sora. Instead he ground his palms against the wood railing, staring bitterly over the ocean. "It's easy to promise you'll never hurt someone." He said dryly. "It's easy to promise you'll never stab them in the back or abandon them." He hunched his shoulders briefly, beating back the emotion threatening to choke his words. "But keeping those promises is a different story."

"Riku…"

Sunset was hours away, but Riku suddenly felt a desperate urge to flee back into the forest, back to the mansion, away from this mess of hope and confusion, away from Sora. He chanced a look at the brunette, and his heart nearly broke at the sadness he found there.

It was no rouse this time. Sora was genuinely upset. "At least give me a chance? Please?"

Riku shook his head vehemently. "Sorry, Sora." He tore himself away from the railing, avoiding the blue eyes he'd infected with sorrow. "I'm all out of chances."

With his fists buried in his pockets, Riku strode away down the hill, his heart openly aching when Sora didn't follow him.

* * *

**A/N: Well…it was almost a happy chapter… ^^; C'est la vie, stories need plots and plots need conflict. *sigh* I'm sure Riku will learn eventually… Maybe the Summer Festival will help spur his spirits? Find out in Chapter 5! Thanks for reading!**

**Review for a chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**Adios, me amigos! **

**-Slay**


	5. Old Friends

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Look "miserable" up in the dictionary-you should find a picture of my face there. Dx**

**A/N: Pshfthtq~ Homework? Who does homework? And don't even get me started on sleeping. Sleep is for squares. Like pants.**

**CHAPTER 5! YAAY! You guys have no idea how excited I am to have this story actually **_**going **_**somewhere. Seriously. It rocks. And you guys help it rock. Pat yourselves on the back, because you're awesome and I love you!**

**Now, I'm a big fat liar and we're actually gonna go on a little field trip for this chapter. Buckle your seatbelts! Lest you be flung through the front windshield on impact! :D**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 5

Old Friends

-o-o-o-

God, he hated toothpicks.

Those diminutive slivers of wood were no match for the acrid craving that lived in the back of his throat, that swelled raggedly in his lungs with every breath. He could feel the aftershock of a cold habit scratching his skin, stressing his muscles, tightening his teeth. The picks took the brunt of his nerves, one after another falling victim to his brutal gnashing, leaving his tongue dry and sour. Even then the craving yanked at him, crying out for the old days, pleading for another drag.

It sucked. …But it was worth it.

Axel sat piled lazily on the rim of a fountain in the city square, driving a poor defenseless toothpick between his canines like a lave. He was waiting on Roxas, who had wandered off to take a phone call. There was a band Roxas liked playing downtown today, and, come on, how was Axel _not _going to take him? So what if the ninety-minute drive from Twilight Town murdered his crap gas tank in cold blood? It was for Roxas. It was a non-issue.

He spotted the blonde across the square, shifting his weight and nodding into his phone. He swiveled around and threw Axel a wave, which the redhead returned with a smile.

Yes, it was definitely worth it.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? If it isn't our old friend, Lea."

Axel shuddered at the voice, at the name. He turned to the speaker and had to pluck out the toothpick to keep himself from swallowing it. "You!"

He had been approached by three midnight-clad men with argent hair and striking eyes. One of them chuckled grimly. "It's been a long time, Lea. We were starting to think you'd finally crawled off and died somewhere."

"Looks like we're outta luck," another supplied, amusing the other two.

Axel frowned and got to his feet, tossing the toothpick. "What are you three doing here?"

"Relax," the spokesperson assuaged. "We aren't here to pick any fights. Especially not with you, Lea."

"Stop calling me that."

"You go by something else now?" The silverette looked taken aback for a second, but then a terribly bemused smile slid over his face. "Oh, _I _see. So _that's_ why you disappeared. You thought you could start over with a clean slate and live a 'normal' life with _this scum." _He motioned at the city around them, buzzing and churning with lively Saturday crowds.

"Watch it, Kadaj." Axel glanced briefly over at Roxas, making sure he was still safely out of the way. "Now tell me why you're really here before I beat it out of you."

The glance didn't escape Kadaj's notice, but his only mockery was a snide flick of his eyebrow. "Threaten me all you like," he crooned. "I don't care. Everyone knows you've been out of commission for years."

Axel grumbled in his throat, clenching his fists, knowing Kadaj was baiting him and winning.

"But if you _must _know," Kadaj continued, "we're looking for someone; our beloved little brother. Perhaps you've seen him? He's a spitting image of Father."

There was a jolt of ice in Axel's chest. He took a second to breathe carefully. "You…You don't have a little brother. I thought Paine was—"

"The lastborn? Well she isn't. It turns out our family is a bit larger than we thought. Isn't that wonderful news?" Kadaj paced around him predatorily, a whimsically dark grin stuck on his lips. "Now if _only _we could _find _him! He's so elusive; I don't know whether to be proud or frustrated. …You're sure you haven't seen him around?" He circled dangerously close to Axel, feral eyes boring sharply into him, scathing his soul for answers, for weaknesses, for opportunities. "I would _hate _to think you were _keeping _things from me, Lea."

"I got nothing," Axel replied bitterly, refusing to yield to the silverette's penetrating stare. "Sorry."

Kadaj grimaced, unsuccessful. "Well, I guess we'll just have to keep looking then," he conceded. "Loz, Yazoo—"

"Axel? What's going on?"

Roxas came trotting up to them, stuffing his phone in his pocket and staring at the light-haired trio, confused. "Who…?" Axel grabbed him and swung him away from Kadaj's curious leer. The silverette tried to maneuver around for a good look at Roxas, but Axel cut in front of him and snarled, "_Goodbye, _Kadaj."

The note of finality in his tone inspired Kadaj to back off. He rallied the other two with a twirl of his hand, and the three took their leave in silence.

"They looked like R—"

"_Hush." _Axel clapped his hand a little aggressively over Roxas' mouth, unnerved by the astute way Kadaj's head quirked as he walked away. _Damn._

Roxas grabbed his hand and cursed unintelligibly into his palm, but Axel wasn't minding him.

Kadaj and his clique were bad news. Really, _really _bad news. The last time Axel had tangled with them…well, he tried not to think about it. He'd have to keep his guard up from now on, knowing that they were in town.

Roxas finally managed to prise the hand off of his mouth. "Axel!" He gasped angrily. "What the hell was that? Who _were _those guys?"

"Trouble," Axel replied simply. He started walking toward the club where the band was playing, expecting Roxas to follow. He did, and as they moved through the streets, Axel spoke in low tones, officially paranoid about being spied on. "You remember that gang I told you about?"

The blonde's aggravation sobered. "You mean…the one that killed your…"

"Yeah."

Roxas gaped, eyebrows drawing up in worry. "Axel…"

"We're gonna be fine," Axel promised, ruffling the boy's hair and pulling him close. "Just stay away from them." There was a pause, during which a new thought occurred to Axel. He tacked it on quietly, spotting the dark figures a fair distance away and convincing himself that they couldn't hear, "Keep a close eye on Sora."

"W…Why Sora?"

"I'll explain later. But for now, we've got a show to watch." Axel guided them into the slack atmosphere of the club, planting Roxas in a seat before starting off again.

"Where are you going?"

Axel pulled out his cell phone and popped a fresh toothpick in his mouth, dialing an old number. "It's my turn to make a phone call."

* * *

**A/N: Hoo~ this was a short chapter. What're the remnants doing here, you might ask? Proliferating more questions that have yet to be answered, that's what. And what's this? I found a way to make Axel important so I don't have to do without him? Even better. **

**Chapter 6 is on its way, so stick around!**

**Review for a chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**I bid thee farewell, for now!**

**-Slay**


	6. One Last Mistake

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction. **

…**Okay, yeah I would. xD**

**A/N: I almost called this chapter "Dammit". xD Rated T for Riku's potty mouth. **

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 6

One Last Mistake

-o-o-o-

Dammit.

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.

He was _not _doing this again. He was _not _doing this to himself. He was _not _doing this to Sora. He was leaving. Now. Screw supplies. Screw munny. Screw waiting until nightfall. Riku was getting the hell off this island before he could make one more terrible decision.

At least, that was the game plan. So far he was having a spectacular amount of trouble leaving.

He was still in the mansion, standing by the bedroom window and toying nervously with his amulet. The sun was still blaring, having snagged a few exiguous clouds has companions in the late afternoon sky. He felt the nip of natural light on his face and remembered how good it had felt earlier. So warm and welcoming and _alive. _

Like Sora.

Dammit.

He probably shouldn't have come back to the mansion. After fleeing Sunset Hill, he should have just up and left. He shouldn't have stopped to regroup. Stopping gave him time to think. Thinking made him feel. Feeling screwed him over.

Dammit.

It wouldn't have been so hard if Sora hadn't spouted all of that 'you can trust me' bullshit.

"_I don't want you to go on thinking everyone's against you just because of how one person hurt you in the past."_

How could he even _say _that? What the hell did _he _know? What did that little _ball of sunshine_ know about being hurt so badly you couldn't bring yourself to trust anyone anymore? How could such a friendly, lovable guy possibly _fathom _the _pain _of being _rejected—_over and over? Detested? Feared? Abandoned? Alone?

The creature reared up inside him, charged anew by the onslaught of rough emotion. Misery boiled into rage; injury hardened into offense.

Sora didn't know what he was talking about. Sora had no right to talk at all.

_Who the hell does he think he is? Patronizing me like that?!_

"Agh!" Riku doubled over, fists in his hair, a dreadful tightness straining his chest. The creature had never been able to break out during the day, but now it seemed possible, and the thought of it was terrifying. The monster thrashed and roared dangerously close to the surface—his sight was blotching out—head spinning—skin blazing—

_Riku._

The amulet hummed against his chest, a solid green light reaching through his failing vision. It skimmed the edges of his mind, seeping through his skin and smothering the burn, melting its way to the agonizing fury stirring inside.

_Be still, love._

There was a buzz and a _snap—_and just like that the creature was silenced, banished back to the darkest crevice of his soul. The pain had vanished. The danger ebbed.

Riku slumped to the floor, breathing hard. The amulet was still glowing under his shirt. He fished it out and stared at it.

Being a magical shape-shifter of the night, Riku was hardly alarmed by a glowing amulet—it was the voice that got him. As stupid as he felt doing it, he murmured, "H-Hello?"

_I know it's hard, love. Believe me, I do. But you're stronger than this. Nana korobi ya oki._

Nana-what now? "Who are you?"

_I need to go now, love. But I'll be with you soon._

"No! Wait!" He clung to the amulet desperately, distressed by the way its light was beginning to fade. He turned it over and over, like he would somehow be able to reach the speaker on the other side. "Who are you?"

_Do me a favor, darling? Don't lose hope. Please._

"Wait! Tell me who you are! Hey!"

_Don't ever lose hope, Riku._

The light in the amulet died, its green corners lit only by the sun in the window. The voice was gone.

"Dammit." Riku let the amulet fall against his chest again, sitting back on his heels and boring frustrated holes into the floor. He kneaded his hands over his legs restlessly, trying to think.

Every fiber of his being was screaming _run. _Logic and instinct both agreed that no good could possibly come of this, and that he should just wash his hands of it while he had the chance—

"_At least give me a chance? Please?"_

"_Sorry, Sora. I'm all out of chances."_

He flinched. Sora hadn't deserved that.

Riku sighed to himself. It was easy to dump the blame on Sora and play victim, but it wasn't honest; and it wasn't fair. To him or Sora. "Ugh." He flopped onto his back in defeat, bringing a hand up to tap the gem of his amulet thoughtfully.

Don't ever lose hope, huh? Well, he supposed he had no choice.

Hope was all he had anymore.

Riku closed his eyes in resign. He'd been beaten down so many times already; he'd made so many mistakes…

What was one more really going to hurt?

-o-o-o-

He waited until the next day to swallow his pride and apologize to Sora.

Sauntering through the woods leading into town, Riku took comfort in the mild weather provided by a thin gable of clouds. Which was great, because inside he was a complete mess.

_I…wanted to apologize for my…behavior yesterday…_

Ew. No. That didn't sound sincere at all.

_Hey, Sora! Sorry for being a douchebag yesterday! See, I don't have any social skills, so…_

…That wasn't better.

_I'm a vicious, man-eating dragon! Wanna be my friend?_

"Dammit."

What the hell was he going to say? He'd shut Sora down with such conviction, such finality… "Ugh. I'm gonna look like an ass no matter what I say..."

Riku kept his eyes up as he navigated Market Street, not spying the brunette and deciding that he would have to take the course of action he was dreading most.

He ducked into the crooked alley at the end of the thoroughfare. For a few seconds the alley bent through light shadows, before opening up onto a narrow, residential street crowded by rows of bright, multi-level houses.

"Blue door, blue door, blue door…" It had to be nearby if Sora considered it a shortcut…

There! A couple of houses down he noticed a distinctive sky-blue door leaning ajar, letting fresh summer air in through a screen. Sidling up to the door—and praying to high heaven that it was the right house—Riku hesitantly pushed the screen door open and poked his head inside. "Uh…hello?"

"RIKU!"

"Gah!" The next thing he knew, he was being suffocated by a pair of arms around his neck, an explosion of spiky brown hair tickling his face. "S-Sora?"

"Riku! I looked absolutely _everywhere_, but I couldn't find you! I was so worried! Are you okay?"

"Uh…"

"Hey, listen I'm really sorry if I crossed a line yesterday. It wasn't my place to say anything."

"Uh…"

"So where'd you run off to, anyway?" Sora leaned back and looked him in the eye, still holding on to Riku's shoulders. "I swear I checked every inch of town."

"Uh…"

Riku's eloquence was interrupted by the jarring ring of a phone in another room. Sora's head snapped around. "Oh, wait right here—I gotta get that." He dashed out of sight, leaving Riku alone and confused in the foyer.

He…wasn't mad?

"Yes, Roxas! I'm fine! Quit asking. Yeah. ... So? … I think I'm old enough to be home alone, Roxas. … No, I haven't _seen anything suspicious. _What is _with _you lately?"

He'd been…worried? After the way Riku treated him?

"Sorry about that," Sora said, returning to the foyer and hitching a thumb over his shoulder. "I don't know what's gotten into him, but my brother's been checking up on me like crazy all day."

From somewhere underneath his stupor, Riku managed to ask, "Is…everything okay?"

"I think so. Rox can be weird like that sometimes." Sora shrugged. "So how about you? Are _you _okay? I really am sorry about yesterday."

That snapped Riku out of his daze completely. "No! You didn't—that is, I mean… I'm the one who should be apologizing…You were just trying to help."

"Well, yeah, but—"

"But _nothing, _Sora. It's fine."

Sora stood quietly for a moment, absorbing, watching Riku with keen and careful eyes. "Okay," he allowed. "If that's the way you really feel about it."

"Yes."

"Then we're cool?"

Riku hesitated, only because the thought of being _cool _with anyone—especially Sora—infected him with a fluttery warmth he wasn't even remotely used to. "Y…Yeah," he nodded. "We're cool."

Unbridled delight poured across the brunette's face, his eyes shining like sapphires. "Awesome! Hey, you wanna hang out for a while? We could play videogames, or we could go see another Struggle match, or—oh…or are you busy again today?"

Well, here it was. His last chance to turn tail and run back to the shadows; the ones that promised to hide him for the rest of his miserable life. It would be a simple enough thing to do—say he had plans and then fill the rest of his day with busywork, clear his mind of Sora, and hope, and Twilight Town in general, then steal away in the night and never return.

But that wasn't what he wanted.

He wanted to stay.

_God,_ he wanted to stay. He wanted to stay here, with the clingy people and the sunny days, with the bright buildings and the warm ocean air… He wanted to stay here with Sora.

…So he would.

If he was going to give happiness one more shot, he may as well do it here. Who knows? It might actually work this time.

With that ludicrous, yet reassuring sentiment on his mind, Riku pulled a grin that felt foreign and fantastic on his face.

"Nope. I'm all yours."

* * *

**A/N: Dialogue overdose? Yes please. And whaddaya know? I actually managed to end the chapter on a happy note! :D That took a lot of effort on my part, and I hope you people appreciate it.**

_**Nana korobi ya oki – **_**literally "fall down seven, get up eight". A Japanese proverb about perseverance. **

**Chapter 7 is underway! **

**Thanks for reading, guys!**

**Review for a chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**TTFN, ta ta for now!**

**-Slay**


	7. Cold Hands

**Disclaimer: I own a really nice pencil, but not Kingdom Hearts. *cries forever***

**A/N: Alright, the past couple chapters felt filler-ish, so now we'll be leaping back into a moving plotline with slightly longer chapters! YAY! I literally stayed up until 5am writing this for you people. I hope you're happy.**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 7

Cold Hands

-o-o-o-

"Y'know, Riku…I think that's the first time I've seen you smile."

It was probably the first time he'd smiled period. Riku honestly couldn't remember the last time he was happy enough to bother with the muscle movement. But ever since he showed up at Sora's door and found out that Sora did not, in fact hate him, he simply couldn't stifle the little murmurs of joy that kept bubbling up from some unknown place.

The smiles were small and sparing, but they were still adventurous compared to his usual facial expressions. He liked the way it felt to smile—it was like stretching his legs after a long night's sleep. Refreshing and strangely familiar, despite the fact that he was miserably out of practice. He also liked the way Sora's countenance seemed to brighten every time he smiled, like it was truly infectious and every pleasant feeling was mutual. It was strange, but he liked it.

Shortly after Sora invited him to stick around, the two of them discovered that Riku was tragically handicapped at videogames. All of them. Driving, combat, role play, it didn't matter. He failed almost every task, however trivial, and lost every single round to Sora, who apparently wasn't even that good. In his defense, Riku had never bothered with the stupid things, seeing very little point in sitting and pressing a bunch of colorful buttons while rotting his eyes in front of a television screen, and he made this perfectly clear after losing his twelfth consecutive street fighting match to the brunette.

"You'll get the hang of it," Sora assured him, though by now he was _way _past feeling sorry for Riku, and was simply basking in his ill-gotten glory, taking the opportunity to lord his "superior" skills over an inexperienced opponent. Jerk.

"Can we do something else?" Riku was tired of failing all over the place. He threw his controller across the floor and flopped backwards, demonstrating that he was done with this nonsense.

Sora laughed at his dejected antics and switched off the console. "I wonder if you'd be any better at board games?" He mused, rounding up their controllers and storing them on a shelf.

"Oh, no," Riku objected. "I think we should do something _outside."_ He was officially paranoid that, having seen how inept he was at videogames, Sora would start suggesting other activities that he would probably suck eggs at.

Riku didn't like sucking eggs.

Especially not in front of Sora.

"It's a nice day," he pressed. "We shouldn't be wasting it indoors."

"Fair enough; so what do you want to do?"

Good question.

"Er…what's there to do?"

"Well," Sora began, but was cut off by someone sweeping in the front door. They looked up to the two newcomers making themselves at home in the foyer, dumping their bags and stepping out of their shoes.

"Hey, Roxas. Axel."  
"Sora!" The blonde rushed over to his twin and started fussing over him. "Did everything go okay while I was gone? Are Mom and Cloud back yet? How long were you by yourself? Did you go into town today? You're sure nothing weird happened? Nothing at all?"

Sora made a face and shooed his brother away. "Yes! Stop treating me like a five-year-old. Seriously, what's your deal? Look, Riku's here and everything!"

"Riku…" Roxas mumbled oddly, slowly looking to Sora's side to find that the aforementioned party was indeed present. Riku waved awkwardly, and Roxas replied with a vague incline of his head, eyes traveling distractedly. "I'm…gonna go lie down. Long trip, y'know…" He drifted across the room and trudged airily upstairs, hazily unaware of the concerned looks stuck to his back.

"…Say, Axel?" Sora tore his eyes away from the staircase once Roxas was gone. "Did something happen while you guys were out of town?"

The redhead didn't respond at first, producing a toothpick—surprise, surprise—from his pocket and popping it in his mouth. "Yeeah," he drawled uneasily, still focused on the empty staircase. "We actually witnessed a gunfight on our way to the concert yesterday. Nothing happened—to us, I mean. But Roxas is still pretty shaken up about it. It was bad."

As he spoke, Riku found himself watching Axel very closely. Something about him was…_off._ The way he pinned his eyes to the stairs, the way his words tapered aloofly from the corner of his mouth, the detached leisure in his posture…

Axel was lying. Royally.

"Oh," Sora fell hook, line and sinker for whatever cover Axel was pulling. He tossed a pitying glance at where Roxas had made his exit. "I understand. …But still, I wasn't even _there. _I don't see why he's so worried about _me."_

Axel brought his attention back to Sora, harlequin eyes tempered by a shadow of maturity. "I know it's annoying," he sympathized, "but you should be thankful to have a brother who cares about you so much."

Something dark brushed through Sora's features, and he angled his eyes to the floor like he was ashamed. "Y-Yeah…" After a moment his expression lightened. "I am," he said sincerely.

This tugged a warm smile out of Axel, who ruffled Sora's hair affectionately as he strolled past. "Good deal." He started climbing the stairs, flipping the toothpick around for a new chewing session. "I'll go make sure Roxy hasn't picked up one of those _funks _of his."

"Okay. Oh, and tell him we're heading out—and that we'll be _fine!" _Sora requested pointedly, getting to his feet. Axel nodded obligingly and disappeared, leaving Sora to extend a helping hand to Riku. "Let's go!"

Without even thinking, Riku accepted the gesture, and was sadly unsurprised when Sora jumped at the touch of their skin.

"Riku, your hands are freezing!"

"Oh, yeah, erm…" Riku helped himself up and wrung his hands embarrassedly. This wasn't the first time he'd encountered this problem. He couldn't even begin to tally how many times he'd driven off people's affections because of his stupid, icy skin. People didn't jump at the opportunity to hold cold hands, and it alienated him very effectively. Affection called for warmth. Warmth wasn't something he had in great supply. "I run a little cold," he said lamely.

"No kidding."

Riku was prepared to bury his stupid cold hands in his stupid cold pockets, but was stopped by Sora's warm touch on his fingers and palms. "…Sora?"

"Let's get you warmed up!" Sora beamed, rubbing their hands together and breathing over Riku's knuckles until heat kindled under his skin, growing and spreading until he swore he could feel it in his face. It was such a foreign sensation—so close and comforting, like he had been drawn in from a blizzard and planted by a roaring hearth.

"There," Sora sighed, cosseting Riku's hands appreciatively, scanning for any last cold spots and seeming satisfied. "All better." He flashed another smile before pulling Riku toward the door. "Now let's get going! I'm sure there's plenty of stuff going on around town, since the festival's starting tomorrow."

The festival.

"Uh—speaking of which…" Riku stopped them half way through the screen door, watching the ground with a disproportionate amount of interest. "I don't suppose that offer of yours is still…?"

Sora's face lit up like the ocean under a rising sun. "Are you saying you've changed your mind about spending the festival with us?"

"Well, I…That is…I don't have anything else going on, so…I mean…I guess…" He couldn't help but notice that they were still holding hands. It was very distracting. "I er…I don't want to impose…"

"Are you kidding? The more the merrier!" Sora was completely undisturbed by the hand-holding thing and continued guiding them into the streets of Twilight Town. "You could probably stay with us, if you wanted."

"Oh, no—that's fine…" Why were they still holding hands? Why couldn't Riku bring himself to let go? Why did his self-control have to take a long walk of a short pier whenever Sora was around? Dammit. _Dammit. Dammit. Dammit._

"Mmk," Sora hummed. "Man, this year's festival is gonna be awesome!"

"Yeah…" Riku still felt dazed and disoriented, but through the muddled thoughts in his brain, another small grin emerged. "Yeah, it is."

-o-o-o-

He knew following Lea had been a good idea. Who _knew_ how much more time they would have wasted searching, were it not for Lea's unwitting help? Kadaj smiled impishly from the upper level of the thoroughfare, feral eyes keeping track of a particular pair as they wended their way through the crowds below. _We've finally found you, little brother._

"That boy he's with," a voice lilted beside him, "you don't think he's going to be a problem, do you?"

He turned to Yazoo, shaking his head consolingly. "No. In fact, he may even prove to be rather useful."

"So let's go get them, already!" A figure made to charge past him, but Kadaj stopped him with the wave of an arm. "Patience, Loz. Our little brother is a special case, remember? We need to be careful around him."

Loz stood down, scowling.

"Don't _cry,_ Loz," Yazoo jeered.

"I'm _not _crying!"

Kadaj ignored their squabbling and focused on his silver-haired kin across the way. "Just wait, little brother," he swore smoothly. "Our family will be whole again soon."

* * *

**A/N: I anticipate that the chapters to come will be growing in length as this "plot" thing develops. I've had people refuse to touch me because of my cold hands. It sucks. Don't do that. T.T **

**Thanks for reading!**

**Review for a chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**Until next time, kiddies!**

**-Slay**


	8. Notes & Letters (Part I)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, OR Final Fantasy, OR the song lyrics…or a car. *hack* But that's beside the point.**

**A/N: I know this chapter took an especially long time to post, but I'm not gonna apologize because I meant to put more effort into it. As I've been saying, I'm trying to up the ante, if you will. …and it's finals week. *dies* So hopefully it was worth the wait. **

**Also, it has **_**not **_**escaped my attention that this chapter's number coincides with my favorite pyro. It has absolutely nothing to do with the story, but no self-respecting Axel fan girl would let that go unnoticed. :P**

**Useless Fact of the Week That Doesn't Get Posted Every Week: Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 8

Notes & Letters (Part I)

-o-o-o-

Riku had three things on his mind. Three concerns that were stuck like splinters in his thoughts, distracting him and kicking up a cloud of confusion in his head.

One, why had his amulet not only glowed, but _spoken _to him the other day? Two, what was that Axel guy covering up with his "gunfight" story that had Sora's brother acting so weird? And three, who had slipped this folded letter into his things while he was asleep?

The thought of someone snooping around while he was transformed was unnerving enough, as was the fact that he hadn't sensed them at all; but what disturbed him the most were the contents of the letter itself.

In slick and slanted hand, a single line at the center of the page read, _I wonder what yours will be?_

…What his _what _would be? Who the hell had left this for him? How much did they know about him? How did they even know _about _him? He'd been just as careful as he always was…

Riku sighed and folded the letter twice, sliding it into his pocket for later examination. As unsettling as it was, it would have to wait. He'd promised to meet Sora outside Central Station at nine, and it was already a quarter 'til. He'd better get going. Apparently the festival kick-off downtown was a "completely awesome" event that he "couldn't afford to miss", so Sora insisted they show up early and get good seats.

'Good seats' for what, Riku had no idea—and Sora wouldn't tell him anything.

"_You're gonna love it; that's all you need to know," _he'd teased, poking Riku in the forehead—which Riku did _not _appreciate, just for the record. _"Be at the station by nine 'o' clock tomorrow morning."_

That was proving to be more of a challenge than Riku had anticipated, and during his jog through the forest , his previous concerns were shoved aside by a concoction of curiosity and dread at what he'd gotten himself into with this festival.

-o-o-o-

There were more people at the station than Riku had anticipated. A lot more.

Throngs and waves of bodies poured in from the streets, washing up against the station doors and packing in tight as people trickled through the ticket counters one by one, the venders unable to process them all fast enough. Every damn person in Twilight Town had to be there! They weren't _all _going to the kick-off, were they? If they were, Riku might have to take a rain check—he hated crowds.

"There he is—Riku! Over here!"

He was relieved to see Sora waving at him from the other side of the plaza, where the hordes thinned out by a barrier overlooking the ocean. Riku managed to shoulder his way deftly through the masses, and was instantly intimidated by the huge gaggle of people standing around the brunette. Sora had neglected to mention that they would be going with _nine other people._

"Right on time!" Sora bubbled, grabbing Riku's arm and hauling him into the thick of the group. "I know it's early, but it's totally worth it!"

"Who's your friend, Sora?"

"This is the guy I was telling you about! Kairi, Riku. Riku, Kairi," Sora introduced pleasantly, then proceeded to gesture at everyone else, rattling off names without a single breath. "You already know Axel and Roxas—that's Axel's friend, Demyx and their friend Zexion and that's Naminé—Kairi's cousin—and that's Hayner and Pence and Olette who we've known since we moved here when I was seven—I told you about that, right? We met in elementary school, and…"

Riku's head was spinning. There was no way in fiery _hell _he was going to remember their names, except for Axel and Roxas. As Sora continued to ramble about…something, Riku just stood like a complete dolt, returning the swarm of friendly smiles, waves and _what's up_'s with unreadable nods of his head and a noncommittal smile that said he _really _didn't want to be there. No one seemed to mind—or even register—his blatant social awkwardness, and after a few chatter-filled minutes, some camo-clad blonde spoke up, grabbing everyone's attention. "Okay, guys—I've got something to tell everybody."

Was it…Kairi? Maybe? There were only _three _girls there—certainly he could keep _them _straight… Well, whoever the hell she was, she rolled her eyes. "Hayner! Don't tell us you forgot to buy tickets _again?"_

There was a round of exasperated groans, and someone—Demyx?—whined, "We don't have to sit in the _nosebleed section _again, do we?"

"_Au contraire," _Hayner mused, producing a full hand of narrow tickets and waving them for everyone to see. "Who's your buddy, who's your pal?"

Roxas snatched the tickets and inspected them critically for a second before his jaw dropped. "You got us into the Pit?!"

"WHAT?"

Everyone moved at once, scrambling to see it for themselves. Riku leapt backward, scared for his life. Sora hopped on his brother's back and leaned determinedly over his shoulder for a better look. "No way!"

"Hayner, you're the best!"

"These must've cost a _fortune!"_

"I heard the Pit sold out in _three days flat _this year!"

"How did you even _get _these?"

Hayner polished his nails proudly on his shirt. "I have my ways."

"Yeah, or your dad knows the owner of the venue," someone countered, making everyone—except Riku, who was still startled—bust out laughing.

"Dad heckled him for _months, _and he finally caved!"

"That is _so _awesome!"

"We've never gotten into the Pit before! See, Riku, I _told _you this was gonna be the best festival ever! …Riku? Oh, there you are! What're you doin' back there, buddy?"

Sora walked over while the others debated who should be responsible for the tickets on the way down and clapped Riku on the shoulder. "You look spooked," he chuckled.

He _was _spooked. "You guys are pretty _jazzed _about this…thing… Um, what, exactly, are we doing?"

One of the girls popped up, her eyes alight with excitement. "Every year, they get some really amazing band to play downtown at the Fantasy Dome. This year it's _Yuna and the Gullwings! _They're _incredible! _And they're so popular, I was afraid we wouldn't be able to get in at all. But Hayner really came through for us this time!"

Who-na and the what-wings? "Oh, uh…that's cool."

Hayner had snatched the tickets back ("I was able to hang onto 'em for _this _long. I think I can make it to the concert.") and was now fanning himself absently with them. "He didn't know how many of us there were gonna be, so he just rounded it up to twelve, which means we have enough for Sora's friend Rocky to go with one left over."

"Riku."

"Yeah?"

"No, I was correcting Hayner—he called you Rocky."

"He did?" Riku hadn't been paying any attention. He was too busy thinking of how today was probably going to kill him.

Sora rolled his eyes. "So what're we gonna do with the extra ticket?"

"Ayeuhoh," Hayner shrugged. "Sell it, I guess."

"Or we could lord it over some desperate soul and make them our bitch for the day."

"Axel, that's terrible."

"It was just a suggestion!"

"Fine. It was a terrible _suggestion."_

"Why're you always busting my chops, Rox—"

"Guys!" Hayner stacked the tickets together and stowed them in his pocket. "You know the lot is gonna be swamped with people who don't have tickets—I'll just pawn it off on the way in."

"Speaking of _swamped…"_

Everyone turned warily toward the locust-like plague of people infesting the train station, churning and humming with hundreds of bodies and jubilant voices.

"Man, if we wait for a train the concert's gonna be _over _by the time we get there," a heavier guy in red sighed.

"Guess we'll just have to split up and drive. Here, everyone take your own ticket—we can just meet inside. It'll be easier."

Riku was handed a ticket, and proceeded to stare dumbly at it until he heard, "Sora, Riku—c'mon. You can ride with us." He looked over to see Axel hail them with a toothpick before turning and sauntering off, Roxas following suit.

Riku didn't move until Sora did, feeling like a dazed and wobbling colt in the situation and not liking it one bit.

-o-o-o-

The four of them meandered through the swimming streets until they arrived at the foot of an apartment complex, where a less-than-red, four-door hunk of junk sat in the adjacent parking lot.

"Has anyone ever told you your car's a piece of crap?" Roxas jeered, tugging insistently on the handle of the locked passenger-side door. "I'm surprised it even _runs._"

"Don't talk about Betsy that way," Axel chided, digging his key into the lock and cranking it until it begrudgingly clicked open. "She's a good car. …Most of the time." He thumped the roof encouragingly and got in, unlocking the other doors and firing up the engine—which snorted to life after three failed attempts.

Riku had never ridden in a car before, and this became painfully obvious after he crawled awkwardly into the backseat and started fumbling stupidly with one of the seatbelts. He pulled it out way too far the first time, let it retract, then went to pull again, only to have the stupid thing refuse and snap stubbornly against his frustrated tugging, completely stuck. He found himself curled uncomfortably, leaning against the stupid back of the stupid passenger's seat with his stupid feet up, trying with all his stupid might to un-stick the stupid seatbelt so he could move on with his stupid life stupid.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

And now Sora was laughing at him.

Lovely.

"R-Riku…" He chortled into his fist, like that somehow made the whole thing less embarrassing. "You…You're trying too ha-ha-hard…"

"Sora, that doesn't make any sense." If anything, he wasn't trying hard _enough. _What was the other end of this thing attached to, a ten-ton weight?

"N-No…H-Here…" Still laughing, Sora took the seatbelt out of Riku's white-knuckled grip and let it retract against the middle seat. "That wasn't even the right one," he giggled. "Now turn around and sit normally." Riku did as he was told, watching with a grimace as Sora reached across him, leaning close—like, _really _close—and pulling on another seatbelt by the window that Riku hadn't even seen. He drew the belt calmly across Riku's chest and buckled it by his hip, all without a single problem.

"There. See?" Sora cinched the belt more snugly before leaning away and strapping himself in, staying in the middle of the seat instead of moving to the other window. "Easy peasy."

"Hmph."

"Okay, kiddos," Axel announced, pulling out of the parking lot while Roxas fiddled with the radio. "Get comfy; it's an hour and a half to The City That Never Was—traffic permitting. I hope you like staticky country music."

"You listen to country music?"

Roxas craned around his seat and grinned at Sora sardonically. "No, but it's the only station this shitbox gets."

"Be nice to Betsy!"

_Oh, brother… _Riku whacked his forehead against the window and glared at the scenery slipping by.

A concert, huh?

_He loved hanging around behind the concert hall. Silk-voiced singers and brilliant musicians frequented the chasm of its stage, their ministrations trailing through the moonbeams and lulling him to sleep in spite of his curse…_

"Huh?"

Riku was snapped out of it by a sudden weight—Sora had nodded off, his head falling softly on Riku's shoulder, his low and breathy snores rattling in the silverette's ear.

"S-S-S-Sora?" He shifted nervously at the contact, but Sora didn't stir. Instead he nuzzled his ear familiarly against Riku's shoulder, humming in his sleep. One of the brunette's hands fell out of his lap and tumbled between them, landing over Riku's wrist and causing him to jump.

He glanced helplessly at the front of the car, only to find Axel and Roxas bickering like an old married couple—which they seemed to do a lot.

"For the _last time, _Axel, you can't go around setting shit on fire whenever you _feel _like it!"

"Hey! I was doing the city a _favor; _that building was atrocious to begin with."

"It was a _daycare center!"_

"Nobody was _inside!"_

"You have a problem, Axel. Get help."

Riku rolled his eyes and looked down at his newly-acquired companion, his chin brushing soft brown hair and stirring up a scent of coastal shampoo with the slightest virile edge. He sighed.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

Without really thinking about it, he wrapped his hand around Sora's; their fingers folded together automatically, sending a wave of warmth and static through Riku's system. He breathed tiredly through his nose, fluttering Sora's bangs in the process.

_What does it matter?_

Since he'd met Sora, he found that he preferred to simply live for the moment and not worry about what crushing pain the future would bring. It was hard to push the inevitable out of his mind, but he was so desperate for relief that he let Sora pull him out of himself, regardless of the ramifications. When he was with Sora, there was no pain, no aching or stress—other than the impending destruction of their doomed friendship. But even that was still _impending. _It hadn't happened yet, and if Riku could just keep his guard up, it wouldn't have to happen for a long while.

If he could keep his guard up.

Which he really couldn't. Not around Sora.

…But that was a concern for the future. For now, he had Sora, no strings attached, and in spite of himself, he was actually pretty happy. Even if he _did _make a complete ass of himself on a regular basis. He supposed that was what made it special, though. The fact that Sora welcomed his blunders with kindness rather than mockery spoke to a deep and accepting nature that Riku had, until recently, never seen.

He dared not hope that Sora would understand, for fear that hoping would exacerbate the pain of his betrayal, but the thought never did leave his mind. _What if he really would understand? What if… …What if…_

Riku let his cheek drop against the top of Sora's head, rubbing his thumb over the boy's knuckle thoughtfully and watching the world fly by beyond the window.

_I wonder what yours will be?_

He was seriously starting to worry about that letter, terribly aware of its presence in his pocket. As he was mulling over it, something strange popped into his head. He suddenly felt a panging concern for Sora, like the author of that letter was targeting _him. _

But they weren't. They were targeting Riku. The whole situation had nothing to do with Sora.

…Still, if it ever came down to that, he knew he'd fight tooth and nail to keep Sora safe, to hell with how doomed their relationship was. These thoughts dragged through his conscious, heavy and slow. He realized just how relaxing the reeling scenery outside was, and with the warmth of Sora's skin still cradled in his hand, Riku let himself slip into a dense and dreamless sleep, his worries placated by the familiar breathing against his collar.

-o-o-o-

"…Would you look at those two?" Axel chortled around the toothpick in his teeth, stealing glimpses in the rearview mirror as Betsy tore along the Highwind Turnpike. Roxas peered into the backseat and smiled. "Cute."

"Nothing like how _we _met."

"Psht—_nooo…"_

"Y'know, if I remember correctly, you ran away from me," Axel sighed dramatically, lifting a hand to his brow forlornly, "—like I was some terrible _monster _or something."

Roxas scoffed. "And if _I _remember _correctly, _you were trying to _eat _me!"

Axel dropped his thespian act and chuckled under his breath. "_Well, _maybe if you didn't look so darn _delectable!" _He threw himself over the gearshift and grabbed Roxas' chin, laying a noshing kiss against the blonde's jaw as if to devour it, dropping his toothpick in one of the cup holders as he did.

"AH! _A-ha-xel!"_ Roxas shuddered, and not all that unpleasantly, but had to shove off the zealous advance with a yelp. "Eyes on the road, you idiot!"

Axel laughed and pulled away. Though his attention returned to his driving, he left his knuckles grazing the side of the blonde's neck—which Roxas didn't seem to mind, so long as they weren't swerving to their deaths.

After a few minutes of silence—well, aside from the crackling din of country music—Roxas took the redhead's hand in his own and peeked into the backseat, where Sora and Riku were still sleeping like rocks.

He turned forward again and kept his voice low. "Have you heard from…?"

"No," Axel replied carefully, "and I haven't seen head or tail of the gang, either. Maybe she's managed to lead them off the trail again."

"Again?"

"Yeah." Harlequin eyes darted to the rearview mirror, watching for any sign that the boys in the back might be awake enough to hear. When he was satisfied that they weren't, he continued in the same, mindful voice, "Apparently they've been on the prowl for the past couple of years and she's been busting her tail trying to keep them at bay. …They must be getting smarter about it. She says this is the closest they've ever come to finding him."

"Really?" Worry flitted through Roxas' eyes, and he couldn't stop the emphatic way he turned to the back, eying the sleeping pair with palpable concern. He looked at Axel. "Should we be doing this? If they're still in the city…"

Axel shook his head and gave Roxas' hand a squeeze. "I doubt it. And even if they are still creeping around, they won't pull anything in a crowd like the one at the concert."

"…Why not? From what I've heard, they don't care _how _much trouble they cause, and they definitely don't care about who sees."

"True," Axel allowed, letting go of Roxas' hand so he could steady his grip on the wheel as they entered into a more chaotic stretch of turnpike. "But it's not like them to do things the messy way. Trust me. If they can do this quietly, they will. Makes 'em seem more clever."

Roxas wasn't very comforted by the thought, but it did mollify him enough to ease back into his seat. His head dropped to one side, eyes catching still-frame glimpses of the inland forests they passed. "What if…" he began a little distantly, then gathered up the rest of the question and continued more solidly, "What if we're there too long and you-know-what happens?"

"We won't be."

"Axel…"

"But if we _are," _Axel pressed, "I _do _have a backup plan." He reached over and ruffled Roxas' flaxen spikes. "So don't worry your pretty little head about it."

Roxas snorted at the choice of words, but then a stubborn smile worked its way into his features. "Okay, Axel," he drawled. "I won't."

* * *

**A/N: 3,179 words **_**not **_**including author's notes. *passes out* **

**I originally intended for this all to be one chapter, but then it would be like, 10k words, and I'm pretty sure that would kill me. Massive chapters are more fun to read than they are to write. **_**Trust me. **_**Besides, I think it works out better for the plot this way. **

**As of posting this chapter, ADoM has had 976 views since I posted it in November. If I were a merciless person I would hold out for 1,000. But honestly, I'm not here to grub for views. I'm here to write fan fiction like a nerd. **

…**Still, 1,000 views would be **_**pretty **_**sweet. **

**Just sayin'.**

**:D**

**Anywho, the good news here is that Chapter 9/Part II is definitely underway because I know exactly where I'm going with it. So stay tuned!**

**Thank you all for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following! IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME! …Which is a little pathetic, but, hey. It keeps me occupied. **

**Review for a chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

_**Jaa ne!**_

**-Slay**


	9. Notes & Letters (Part II)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, OR Final Fantasy, OR the song lyrics…or a car. *hack* But that's beside the point.**

**A/N: Okay, here's the second chunk of **_**Notes & Letters, **_**where crap actually starts to happen. INLCUDING A BIG SEXY MUSICAL NUMBER! …okay, not really. :D**

**I finished this around 12:30, so it's probably not perfect. Proofreading? Pshffft. What's that?**

**Also, 1,083 views, baby! :DD I feel accomplished. **

**And thanks again to all of my readers/reviewers, especially the anons whom I can't thank individually.**

**Useless Fact of the Week That Already Got Posted This Week: Almonds are members of the peach family.**

***I bold and italicized the lyrics so they could be easily discerned from the prose. ("Real Emotion" by Koda Kumi)**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 9

Notes & Letters (Part II)

-o-o-o-

The Fantasy Dome was a spectacular thing.

Residing deep within the city, it took up an imposing amount of space with looming walls of tiered metal shafts and pillars, all polished and pared, industriously stylish with a huge sterling dome gyrating like a globe among the soaring bulwarks above. The massive, glimmering building was surrounded by golden plazas and shining fountains, all punctuating the presence of a winding, silvery moat, traversable by sprawling covered walkways, their awnings sharp and gleaming in the late morning sun.

Riku was only able to enjoy the breathtaking architecture for a moment, though, because the second they stepped onto the farthest plaza, they ran into a solid, teeming wall of _people. _

Riku didn't _like _solid, teeming walls of _people_.

"Okay, men," Axel addressed them with a militaristic edge. "Batten down the hatches and hold on tight—we're goin' in!" He then proceeded to take Roxas' hand, then Roxas grabbed Sora, and Sora in turn held out his own hand to Riku, who took it with a nervous gulp.

"_Vive le Feu!_" Axel emboldened—though Riku had no idea what that meant or what it had to do with anything—and hauled the four of them head-first into the tightly-knit crowd.

It was like wading through a pile of rocks.

People wouldn't _move. _They all just stood there, a bunch of loudmouthed, blank-faced lemmings bumping against each other with the structural integrity of seeping tar. Knocking shoulders, stepping on feet, tripping and fumbling—it was all completely unavoidable. It was all Riku could do to clutch Sora's hand for dear life, unable to see the back of the brunette's head half the time, guided only by the physical pull of his arm and the promise that this would be over soon.

"God, it smells like chicken broth!" He heard Roxas complain up ahead. "And I'm pretty sure no one here is having _soup!"_

"Ah, yes! Nothing like the smell of shameless body odor in the morning!" Axel declared, persisting through the mob of people.

"Guuuys, I think somebody just _groped_ me…" Sora mewled unhappily.

"_What?" _Riku gave the guy obstructing his path a merciless shove, closing in on Sora like a midday shadow and staying there as best he could, warding off any other hands that got too curious as they wedged past.

"Don't lose heart, men!" Axel bellowed through the loud droning of the masses. "Remember why we're here!"

Roxas' voice carried over the din again, "Axel—you're tall. How much farther to the entrance?"

"We're almost there! Just. Keep. _Moving!"_

They _must_ have been close, because the crowd had somehow congealed even more. The four had slowed to an undulating crawl, awkwardly shouldering their way past people who had no more space to move than they did.

Sure enough, they soon surfaced between the crowd and a long string of full-length turnstiles. They spastically yanked out their tickets and flung them in the faces of the vendors, desperate to get away from the suffocating throngs. Once they had their stubs back, they pushed one after the other through a single turnstile, and were greeted by the ambrosia of breathable air on the other side. The mass of people had thinned so dramatically, like the turnstile was a wish-granting magic portal. Apparently the majority of people outside didn't even have tickets, and were serving no other purpose than blocking the Fantasy Dome's every entrance.

"Well," Sora breathed, dropping Riku's hand and stretching in the newfound space. "Hayner shouldn't have any trouble selling that ticket."

"Let's just hope it doesn't turn into a feeding frenzy," Roxas tempered. "Now…where to?"

"I vote food court," Axel supplied, rolling his shoulder like he'd just stepped out of a strenuous workout. "It's almost noon and the show doesn't start 'til one. Plus, I'm starving."

"Yeah," Sora nodded, rubbing his stomach. "I didn't eat breakfast this morning."

"Sora!"Roxas rolled his eyes, exasperated. "How did you manage that? Mom cooked a full spread before she went to work!"

"I dunno!" The brunette pouted at his twin. "We were running late and it slipped my mind!"

"You're hopeless."

Not appreciating his brother's chastising, Sora turned to Riku instead. "What about you, Riku? You hungry?"

Riku gave something between a nod and a shrug, indicating that he really didn't care, so long as they didn't have to swim through any more unwashed crowds.

"That settles it! To the food court!" Axel continued acting as a sergeant of sorts, leading his small platoon first to the restrooms ("Sora, you're just gonna have to go again after lunch." "Shut up, Roxas. It's not good to hold it in!") and then to the manageable bustle of the food court, where they were able to eat in relative peace until one 'o' clock.

-o-o-o-

After lunch, they made their way to the heart of the venue—a great amphitheater of cascading black stands that were already stirring with people. Riku noticed a gaping, shadowy hole plunging down through the center of the venue. His eyes widened a bit. "That's not the _Pit, _is it?"

Maybe it wasn't really a concert—maybe it was actually a primeval mass sacrifice to a pride of hungry lions…

"Psh—no," Sora chuckled. "That's where the stage is gonna be."

Riku stared at him blankly, then at the giant hole in the ground. "Well where is it _now?"_

Sora patted his shoulder, giggling. "You're funny, Riku." He then walked forward with the other two, leaving Riku's question unanswered.

"Wait!" Riku yelped, partially afraid of being left behind and partially frustrated that Sora wasn't taking him seriously. "No, really," he persisted, catching up with them, "where is it?"

Sora continued snickering at him, and the four took a long, sloping hallway down to the lowest level, where they reemerged at the bottom of the amphitheater, face-to-face with two bouncers and a roped-off crowd. After flashing their ticket stubs, the group fed into the actual Pit, where fellow spectators were standing around, chattering about the upcoming show.

"Ugh, I just realized something," Roxas pouted as they came to stand by a wall separating the Pit from the would-be stage. "This thing is _huge. _How're we gonna find the others?"

"We can call and have everyone meet up here," Axel reasoned. "By entrance…A13."

Putting this plan into action, Axel proceeded to repeat the same instructions into his cell phone for fifteen minutes until everyone had arrived.

"Did you end up selling that ticket, Hayner?"

"Yup. Some guy overheard us at the train station and paid the full 1200 munny up front!"

"Wow. That's…kind of weird, actually."

"Yeah…Weren't you gonna discount it at all? It's not like you need the profit."

"I was, but he insisted."

"Who _insists _on paying over 1000 munny for a secondhand ticket?"

"I dunno! Creepy guys who eavesdrop at the train station, apparently!"

"Apparently."

"Hey, you guys hear that? I think the show's about to start!"

A great rumbling was rising up around them, sounding from somewhere deep beneath the venue, inspiring the entire place to go completely silent. The floodlights above began to shift, shrinking and zeroing in on the dark void at the center before winking out, leaving the venue pitch black for one, breathless second. A trail of spotlights flashed and came spiraling down from the abyss above, circling through the amphitheater like swirling sun beams. A roar of cheering shredded up from the silence and thundered down the stands—the gaping hole at the center swelled with ethereal light, brushing their faces with a clean, white glow.

Riku felt a tug on his arm, and looked down to find Sora's enthusiastic face beaming up at him. "Here it comes!"

The rumbling grew louder, heavier, rolling up from under their feet like an oncoming stampede.

"Look up there!" Small, winged platforms—gilded gliders ridden by _people—_came soaring out into the otherworldly light, trailing neon-blue streams behind them like comets. The scream of an electric guitar pierced the roar of the crowd, then another, until the twin keening filled the venue and riled up the stands to an earsplitting applause. Spotlights rained down into the central light, where a circular stage had risen, spinning and spinning until a woman appeared in a sinewy blast of glassy blue light. It was unlike any _concert _Riku had ever seen.

"There she is!" One of the girls squealed. "It's Yuna!"

"Oh my God, she's so amazing!"

_**What can I do for you?**_

_** What can I do for you?**_

_** What can I do for you?**_

_** I can't hear you!**_

A rippling, upbeat tempo flitted through the air as the woman produced a microphone and started twirling rhythmically on stage, her modish, ruffled outfit wheeling like petals as she moved.

_**What can I do for you?**_

_** What can I do for you?**_

_** What can I do for you?**_

More people materialized on the stage—an entourage of dancers, a leather-clad guitarist, a spunky female drummer. Together they conquered the stage in a symphony of light and motion, goading the already ecstatic crowds. Yuna's voice fell perfectly into the music, sweet and determined, clear as day echoing through the massive venue.

_**Far beyond the hazy borders of my heart**_

_** I can see a place that's something like this**_

_** Every now and then I don't know what to do**_

_** Still I know that I can never go back**_

"Isn't this awesome, Riku?" Sora hollered over the insanity of the Pit, bobbing excitedly with the song. Riku looked around; everyone he saw was jumping, dancing, throwing themselves around, shouting or mouthing the words, their heads nodding, their arms thrown up and flailing unabashedly. "It's…It's certainly _something."_

He looked back at Sora to find him doing the exact same thing—but there was something…_else _about him. Something about the way the boy was dancing entranced him.

_**But the things I've seen **_

_**In those hazy dreams**_

…The way his wrists tangled in the air…

_**Can't compare to what I'm seeing now**_

…The way his eyes were closed and his lips were curled…

_**Everything's so different**_

…The way he leaned and lurched in time with the stippling beat of the music…

_**That it brings me to my knees**_

Riku didn't realize he was staring until Sora opened his eyes and flashed that brilliant smile of his. "Dance with me!"

"_What? _No, no, no—I can't dance."

"Everybody can dance!" Sora grabbed his hands—his warm grip against Riku's icy skin as unyielding as ever—and started cavorting around him, forcing him to spin and shuffle his feet.

_**And though**_

_** I know**_

_** The world of Real Emotion has surrounded me**_

_** I won't give into it**_

Riku stumbled and resisted, but Sora didn't give up, bobbing his arms encouragingly and pulling them around in dizzy circles.

_**Now**_

_** I know**_

_** That forward is the only way my heart can go**_

"C'mon, Riku—work with me, here!"

_**I hear your voice calling out to me:**_

_** You'll never be alone.**_

"Dammit, Sora! I told you I _can't dance!"_

_**What can I do for you?**_

_** What can I do for you?**_

_** What can I do for you?**_

_** I can't hear you!**_

"Not with _that _attitude!"

_**What can I do for you?**_

"Sora, I feel stupid!"

_** What can I do for you?**_

"Don't feel _stupid! _Feel _the music!"_

_** What can I do for you?**_

Unable to free himself from Sora's insistent pulling, Riku let himself be guided in tight and jumping knots, feeling absolutely ridiculous until he surprised himself by falling into what could almost be called a rhythm with Sora. Suddenly the twirling wasn't so haphazard, the jumping was less awkward, and he found he sort of liked it.

_**I don't plan on looking back at my own life**_

_** I don't ever plan to rely on you**_

_** Even if by chance everything should go wrong**_

_** You come in one day**_

_** And try to save me**_

Before he knew it, he and Sora were a natural part of the rioting crowd, wheeling around each other, somehow forming synchronicity in every step, every wave, every idiotic smile that passed through the flashing lights of the stage.

_**If from time to time**_

_** It's an upward climb**_

_** All I know is that I must believe**_

_** Cause the truth I'm seeking**_

_** Always was inside of me**_

Just like that, his every worry was erased. The amulet, the suspicions, the letter—they all vanished every time he met Sora's eyes in the epileptic darkness, fizzling out until his happiness was impenetrable.

"That's it, Ri!"

Ri… No one had ever called him that before.

_**And when**_

_** I find**_

_** The world of Real Emotion has surrounded me**_

_** The many things that you taught me then**_

_** Will always be enough to get me through the pain**_

He liked it. He really liked it. He hoped Sora would make a habit of calling him that now. Just Sora, though—to hell with everyone else.

_**Because of you I am strong enough**_

_** To know I'm not alone**_

It was the strangest feeling. Something light and exciting tickled his throat, bubbling up and spilling through the stupid smile he couldn't wipe off of his face.

"Riku! You're laughing!" Sora yelped happily, jumping up and throwing his arms around Riku's neck in a tight hug. "I was starting to think you didn't know how to," he exclaimed, his voice clear and intimately close under the noise of the concert.

Having Sora in his arms and feeling the brunette's joy trickle past his ear spurred Riku's laughing even more. It felt strange and underused, and he supposed that if he could really hear himself he'd sound ridiculous guffawing like this, but it felt so amazing—it felt so _right. _"I know how," he corrected, reveling in the brush of Sora's hair against his neck, "I just never had a reason to."

Sora gave him an approving squeeze and Riku set him down, giddy aftershocks of laughter trembling in his chest as he grinned into those big, zaffre eyes he was no longer afraid to adore.

But then something odd caught his attention like a distracting flash of light. Expression falling, Riku glanced over Sora's head and was met with the brazen stare of a stranger several feet away. He may not have given the guy a second glance were he not standing there completely motionless, with a dire look on his face and a terrible glint in his eye. When their gazes locked, a devilish smile stretched across the man's face, and a terrifying vibe rattled Riku's nerves.

"Riku? Is everything okay?" Sora leaned close enough to avoid yelling, but Riku didn't really notice him until he started turning around, curious. Riku snagged the side of Sora's face to keep his eyes forward, pulling him back into a hug and murmuring down into his ear, "Everything's fine—I just…remembered something I have to do later. That's all."

Sora returned the embrace hesitantly, and after a moment he replied, his voice uncharacteristically serious, "Riku, if something's going on, you know you can tell me."

"I…" When he looked up again, the stranger was gone. Riku couldn't tell if he was relieved or worried. Could that possibly have been the person who sent…? _No. _It was just some creepy guy at a concert. Nothing strange about that. Still, he couldn't help but think…

"I wonder what yours will be?"

Riku jumped so suddenly that Sora yelped, his grip tightening in shock. He whirled around and was startled by a pair of feral green eyes leering at him from way too short a distance. The stranger nodded a veil of silvery hair out of his face. "I really do."

Riku tightened his hold protectively on Sora, who stood startled and confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The stranger shook his head, tusking. "That's no way to greet someone."

"Get lost."

Riku made to guide them away from this creep, but was held back by a firm hand on his shoulder. "You know," the other silverette crooned darkly, "as _happy _as I am to finally see you, I must say your manners are disgraceful. I hope you don't treat everyone like that—it would be so very embarrassing for our family if you did."

"Our…family?" Riku turned toward the stranger, keeping Sora safely behind him. "…Who are you?"

The stranger's smile deepened, but grew no warmer. "Just someone who's been _dying _to meet you."

"I don't…I don't understand."

"Oh don't worry," the stranger raised his hand emphatically, "You will." It seemed the man was about to make a significant gesture, but he was stopped by something tackling him violently to the ground.

"Axel!"

-o-o-o-

"I thought I smelled a _rat."_

He almost hadn't noticed in time—whatever trick Kadaj was planning had almost gone through. But luckily, Roxas had spotted the scene playing out and alerted Axel at the last moment, giving him a narrow window to act. Without even thinking about it, Axel had lunged for Kadaj and pinned him to the ground, glaring murderously down at him.

A pained expression flickered across Kadaj's face, but was soon replaced by his usual composure. "Why, Lea,I didn't know you liked this band."

"Cut the crap. How did you even get in here, you disgusting snake?"

"Your friend was kind enough to sell me his extra ticket back at the train station in Twilight Town," Kadaj recounted coolly. "I even paid the full value of the ticket—after all, you can't put a price on _family, _right?"

Axel's heart sank. _Goddammit, Hayner… _

A startled yell sounded over them. "Axel! What are you doing!?" Sora and Riku were staring dumbfounded at them, and Roxas had just appeared with a distraught look on his face. Axel motioned for Roxas to remove the other two from the scene, and he obeyed, shoving Sora and Riku through the crowd, ignoring their frantic protests.

"I don't understand what you're so upset about," Kadaj drawled. "I wasn't hurting anyone. I was just enjoying the show."

"Bullshit."

"You lied to me, Lea," Kadaj accused suddenly. "You played dumb when we asked about little brother—yet here I find you treating him like your own beloved sibling."

"You're no good for him," Axel snarled. "Leave him the hell alone."

"I think not." Kadaj curled his feet under Axel's stomach and kicked him off, flipping seamlessly to his feet with a new scowl on his face. He watched carefully as Axel got up, hand straying to the handle of a weapon concealed under his clothes.

"Why is it that you even care, Lea?" He pondered, his voice carrying unnaturally through the noise around them. Axel said nothing, and an epiphany caused Kadaj's brow to quirk. "Oh, _I _see…this is about Reno, isn't it?"

At that, Axel bristled visibly. "It isn't just Reno," he defended a little shakily, steeling himself against the gruesome memories that began to surface. "You run around doing whatever the hell you want, striking down everyone who gets in your way like a bunch of spoiled _brats _and I'm _sick_ of it, Kadaj."

"Hm." Kadaj muffled a laugh in the back of his throat. He flexed his fingers on the weapon's handle, amused. "We've known each other for nearly five hundred years, and you're _just now _getting _sick _of it?" He ignored the dirty look Axel gave him and continued. "Honestly, Lea…" A sadistic glint lit in his eyes. "Stealing _our _brother away _just _ to replace the one you lost? That's a little _low _for you, isn't it?"

"That's not what this is about and you know it," Axel growled, using all his wherewithal _not _to beat the living daylights out of this prick. The low simmer in the back of his throat flared. He ground his teeth to fight it down.

"Then what _is _this about, Lea? Why _are _you putting yourself on the line for him?"

Axel grimaced. He _really _wished Kadaj would stop _calling him that. _"Riku's a good guy," he defended. "He doesn't deserve to get tangled up with the likes of you."

"Is that so?" Kadaj flipped the same intrusion of hair out of his eyes and frowned. "Well I hate to break it to you, Lea…" He threw his hand back up in the hair, twirling his finger in a summoning motion. "But it isn't up to you!"

After he said that, the entire venue went pitch black—speakers all over the place faltered and cut out, and once they realized that it wasn't part of the show, all 30,000-some people in the audience began to panic, shrieking and milling into each other in poor attempts at escape. Axel was barely able to register any of this, though, because he was blinded immediately by the rending pain of two long blades ripping through his stomach.

"Know this, Lea." Kadaj's voice was hard and frigid in his ear, the blades twisted in his flesh, amplifying the pain until he was seeing white. "You _won't _be getting in our way _again."_

* * *

**A/N: … I'm just gonna go write chapter 10 before you guys kill me. :D**

**Review for a chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**I'M SORRY AXEL I LOVE YOU! **

**-Slay**


	10. Little Brother

**Disclaimer: If I had a nickel for everything I owned, I'd still be a broke college student with an unhealthy obsession. T_T**

**A/N: I realize the ending of chapter 9 might have been a tad…rough. Heh. SO after some very inspirational (and threatening) reviews, I worked to crank out this chapter ASAP (and failed ;_;). Now put down your pitchforks and read! READ LIKE THE WIND!**

***Rated T for more potty mouthing. :D**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 10

Little Brother

-o-o-o-

"Ow! Hey! What the hell is going on? How does Axel know that guy?"

Roxas gave another shove, pushing them farther through the roiling Pit. "It's none of your business, Riku," he grunted, having a considerable amount of trouble forcing the taller boy forward as Sora trotted warily behind.

_Our family._

Riku batted his hands away and grimaced. "Actually, I'm starting to think it's _all _my business." That guy was the one who sent him the letter. That guy knew something about him, and Riku was determined to find out what. "I'm going back."

"_No you're not," _Roxas hissed, pushing him toward one of the entrances with a sudden burst of strength. He manhandled Riku out into the sloping ramp circling the venue, where the banging of the concert music fell to a heavy and distant thumping.

"Don't tell me what to do." Riku tried to slip past him again, but Roxas practically punched him in the chest to stop him, slamming him against the white wall of the ramp.

"Axel used to run with a bad crowd, okay?" Roxas confessed bitterly. "He's gotten into some trouble and I don't need _you _making it worse for him!"

Riku froze at the way the boy's eyes glossed over, like he was on the very brink of tears.

"Roxas!" Sora gripped his brother's shoulders. "Why didn't you say anything? We can help!" Roxas ignored him, fixing a severe, watery glare on Riku. "Don't mess with them," he presaged grimly. "They'll tear you apart. Just like they did Axel."

Riku was completely floored by that. "What…What happened?"

Roxas shook his head helplessly, like it wasn't his story to tell. He shrugged out of Sora's hold and kneaded the tears out of his eyes. It looked like something was balanced on the tip of his tongue, but it ran away when the lights cut out. There was a winded second of pure, impenetrable darkness before emergency track lights surged to life overhead, filling the corridor with a low and dismal glow. The thumping of the concert stopped, and was soon replaced by sweeping cries of alarm that swelled and rose, causing the hairs on the back of Riku's neck to stand up. Something told him this was more than a simple power outage.

He grabbed the twins by their arms and started pulling them up the ramp. "We have to get out of here."

Through the Pit's entrance they heard an amplifier screech over the din of the audience, followed by a loud, groaning crash and a wave of escalated screams from the people inside.

Something small and panicked escaped Roxas' lips, and he wrenched out of Riku's grip, diving back into the frenzied throngs of the Pit.

"Roxas!" Sora tore off after his brother, and after a flustered string of curses, Riku followed.

Backup lighting in the venue had either been cut, or was complete crap, because as soon as they pierced the wall of the crowd it was almost completely dark again. He managed to lunge forward and grab Sora again, who hauled him through the crowd with impressive command. The two of them were batted back and forth by the hysterical Pit-goers as they started churning toward the nearest exit. It was like swimming against the current of a powerful river…of rocks.

Just when Riku was sure they would be impounded, Sora stopped. "I lost Roxas," he announced sadly.

Riku started pulling the two of them along with the rest of the crowd. "He'll be fine. Let's just get out of—ACK!" He tripped gracelessly over a rather large lump of something sprawled across the concrete floor, bringing a yelping Sora with him.

"Augh! _Do _you_ mind?" _The lump protested, squirming away from their feet.

Wait.

He knew that voice.

"…Axel?"

Pushing against the people that drove past, Riku and Sora clamored around to see the fleeting shapes of their lanky, redheaded friend lying on his side.

"What'cha doin' on the ground, Axel?"

Axel stirred, but didn't move to get up. "Having a fucking _tea party_. What's it look like?"

It was too dark to see, but Riku could clearly picture Sora's subsequent pouting in his mind's eye. "That was uncalled for," he reprimanded. "Are you hurt or something?"

"I've seen better days."

"Well, let's go before you get trampled," Riku proposed, nudging Sora to help him and drawing one of Axel's arms over his shoulders.

"_Ah—_careful, careful…"

"Sorry."

"Sorry."

Axel's size and build made him very awkward baggage, but between the two of them, Sora and Riku managed to lurch him along with the thickened flow of the crowd. After a while they drifted into the corridor, where Axel instructed them to turn into the dim confines of a restroom so he could rest from the sluggish stampede.

"You're gonna have to last longer than that if you want to make it out here," Sora chastised softly as they let the redhead slide down the tiled wall.

"I'm not _gonna _make it out of here."

"Axel!"

The redhead made a face. "I mean _on my own. _They'll find me after things calm down. I can wait it out 'til then."

As Axel was speaking, Riku took in the terribly imbrued wound in his stomach. The blood ran black in the low light, blooming over the entire lower half of his torso and gleaming villainously with every staggered breath. He then saw, with a new spark of horror, the spattered trail of blood that had followed them into the restroom. Sora noticed it too and gasped, eyeing Axel with pitying terror.

Riku shook his head, astonished. "Axel, _look at yourself. _This could take _hours _to clear up—you can't wait that long."

"Maybe we can go get someone," Sora suggested quickly.

That was wishful thinking. The Fantasy Dome was _huge, _and now it was poorly-lit and packed with panicking masses of people, and Riku himself didn't know left from right in this place to begin with. If either of them left, they'd be hopelessly lost and Axel would be dead before they could even find help, much less bring it all the way back. Axel seemed to realize this too, and gave Sora an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, gimme some credit here," he grinned, though the usual satire was dented by pain. "I'll hang in there. I've had _way _worse than some puny _hole _in my gut."

Riku grimaced. "Have you, now?"

"Look," Axel shifted up against the wall uncomfortably. "I need you guys to do me a huge favor and get out of here before something_ really _bad happens—"

On cue, another round of crashes boomed through the corridor, goading the shrieking masses into a near standstill.

"Do you even know what's going on?"

"It doesn't matter," Sora resolved. "We aren't _leaving _you, Axel."

The redhead grunted. "You're gonna _have _to. I'll drag you guys down. Literally."

Well, that was a fact that couldn't be argued—Axel wasn't the easiest person to carry along. Still, he was one of the closest things Riku had to a friend other than Sora, and he didn't deserve to be left alone like that. Besides, Riku was pretty sure Roxas would tear them each a new one for doing that. "Then we'll stay here with you," he decided. "We're not in any more danger than you are by waiting."

Axel shook his head. "Uh-uh. Not gonna fly. You two are gonna leave, and I'm gonna stay here, and everything's gonna be hunky-dory. 'kay?"

"Stop talking crazy," Sora huffed. "We're not abandoning our friend."

"And I'm not endangering mine!" The sudden edge to the redhead's tone startled the other two into silence. Axel tilted away from the wall, clenching a hand over his stomach and biting back the pain. "This isn't some TV drama," he said harshly. "You guys aren't proving anything by risking yourselves over me."

"We aren't trying to prove anything—"

"There's nothing more you can do for me anyway," he bowled over Sora's comment, resituating himself and closing his eyes, smirking lazily to himself. "I'll be okay. I meant it when I said I've had worse."

"Ax—"

"Now get out of here before they find you."

Sora and Riku traded uncertain looks. "…Who?"

"Who indeed?"

A new, though not unfamiliar voice drifted into the restroom, spiraling eerily off of the linoleum. Looking up, they took in the sight of a young man clad in black, the emergency lights tracing his argent hair in a soft and haunting glow. Riku recognized him as the person he'd spoken to earlier, the one Axel had tackled to the ground—the one Roxas wouldn't let him talk to.

Axel cursed, and the newcomer snickered at him for it.

"I'm impressed, Lea. You made it pretty far for a dying man."

"Who says I'm dying? It'll take more than your lousy swordsmanship to kill me, Kadaj."

"Ooh, look at this, Yazoo. We've got a _fighter!"_

Another man who bore a startling resemblance to Kadaj appeared in the entryway, smiling thinly. "I'd expect nothing less from The Flurry," he mused.

"Ah, but this man isn't The Flurry," Kadaj countered, producing a dual-bladed sword and hoisting it to Axel's neck, forcing him to cock his head back. "Not anymore. The Flurry _we _know would _never _fall to his hands and knees for a bunch of sniveling humans."

"Axel, what are they talking about?"

Sora's question went unanswered as an earsplitting howl tore through the venue, heightened by a string of monstrous crashes and explosive aftershocks. Even Kadaj and Yazoo wobbled where they stood and whipped toward the commotion.

"Oh dear," Yazoo sighed. "It sounds like Loz has lost control again."

"So go and get him! _We can't say here._" Kadaj's albeit dark sense of humor had been snuffed out. He waved Yazoo off angrily and wheeled back around to the others, angling his sword—only this time, it wasn't at Axel.

"Riku," he baited, the name sounding foreign on his tongue, "Come with us."

Riku flinched at Kadaj's estranged tone, and scooted back, eying the man suspiciously. "Why should I?"

Kadaj started to sound impatient, almost desperate—something about the "Loz" situation seemed to have him thoroughly unnerved. "I'm sorry about the circumstances," he clipped, lowering his sword in an attempt to quell his hostility. "I haven't given you any reason to trust me. But if you come with us, I can promise you answers to all the questions you could never ask."

"Questions I could never…?"

"_Don't listen to him, _Riku!" Axel grunted at a new slice of pain that opened up from his outburst. "It's all bad news!"

"_Silence!" _Kadaj brought his sword back up to Axel's face, throwing him back against the wall to avoid the blades. "It's not like _you're _going to tell him!"

"Tell me what?"

"_No, _as a matter of fact, I'm _not._ 'Cause there's no _reason _for him to get involved in all of your supremist bullshit," Axel seethed, boldly knocking the sword away from his face.

"Supremist wha—?"

"Who gave you the authority to _say _that?" Kadaj spat, gesturing furiously with his sword. "You're not even part of his family!"

"No, and thank God, 'cause with a _family _like _that, _who needs _enemies?"_

A deadly shadow entered Kadaj's eyes as he glowered down at the redhead slumped on the floor. "I've had just about enough of _you." _He drew back his sword and scowled. "So we're going to try this again. And _this _time, you _will _die. I'll wait until I see it in your eyes!" The dual-blades came piercing down, bound straight for Axel's throat, a flash of reflected light slicing through the darkness, lusting for a solid kill, when—_CLNK. _Sharp ringing peeled around a new scene, paralyzed by mutual shock.

The perfectly-timed jab of a mop handle had slipped between the blades and caught them at the hilt, stopping the sword just short of Axel's skin. At the other end, Sora crouched with his arms trembling, matching Kadaj's blow with amazing resolve. "So _you're _the one who's causing all the trouble," he grumbled. "You already hurt him once—I'm not letting you hurt him twice."

Kadaj's malice had drained into surprise, but came rushing back at having been foiled. "Meddling little pest," he hissed, whirling his sword around and levering the mop out of Sora's grip, flinging it haphazardly out into the emptied corridor before switching targets with a sneer. "I always found humans un_bearably _annoying." He made to swing at Sora, but Riku moved faster, diving for Kadaj's waist and driving him into the ground of the corridor. He took his chance to swipe the weapon from Kadaj's hand and pinned the blades at the base of this throat.

"Sora! Go!" To his relief, Sora actually listened to him for once, bolting past them with a single, worried glance.

Riku pressed the tips of the blades threateningly into Kadaj's skin, and to his immeasurable disbelief, Kadaj started _laughing._

"Go ahead," he chortled, unconcerned about the twin blades that were slowly slicing into his throat, "Kill me, little brother."

"…What?"

"MY TURN!" Something snatched Riku up by his jacket and hurled him to the side, sending him and the dual-bladed sword tumbling several feet. He looked over to see Axel hovering over Kadaj and shooing him away. "Go with Sora—I'll handle this!"

Nothing good seemed to come from ignoring Axel's orders, so Riku nodded and snatched up the sword before tearing off down the corridor, hoping against hope that the day was out of surprises.

* * *

**A/N: THERE. My Christmas present to you is Axel's life. HAPPYHOLIDAYSPLEASEDONTKILLM EKAY? :D And ho snap there's action now! Who woulda thunk?**

**Again, this chapter could have gone on for several more pages, but it's called pacing yourself. Besides, if I give you everything you want at once, you won't stick around. And I think I dropped a couple of really good teasers in this one, too.**

**Chapter 11 is on the way! With any luck it'll be up before Christmas!**

**But don't hold me to it.**

**I have commitment issues.**

**Proofreading is for squares! Like pants!**

_**Au revoir!**_

**-Slay**


	11. Strange Things, Best Friends

**Disclaimer: …do you think Nomura would accept 32 cents and some belly button lint in exchange for the KH franchise? No? Me neither.**

**A/N: Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! I was considering doing something separate for the holidays, but I promised to get everybody through this silly concert debacle first, so this shall be my gift to you all. :D I don't really have anything else to say—except that I'm typing this with fresh guitar calluses and it HURTS. See the pain I put myself through for this? X.x**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 11

Strange Things, Best Friends

-o-o-o-

"I'm not seein' him, Roxas."

"Neither am I. I don't think he's here."

The Pit was almost completely empty, and there was still no sign of Axel; Roxas felt he could safely assume the redhead had escaped. He would get into scraps with Kadaj from dawn till dusk, but he would never go and get himself kidnapped.

"Okay. Let's go then."

Shortly after getting swallowed up by the barely-lit crowds, Roxas had run into Demyx and Zexion—literally. After picking themselves up, the two sympathized with Roxas' distress and agreed to help him out. Or at least keep him company. "This is scary enough without being alone," Demyx had declared, already holding determinedly to Zexion's hand in order to prevent separation. They then spent several minutes braving the rush of people and the violent destruction raining down on the stage in search of their friend.

Convinced that Axel wasn't dying in a pool of his own blood, Roxas rallied the other two and started marching for the nearest exit, which was still a little cluttered by people.

"Why would anyone wanna destroy this place?" Demyx pondered aloud, alarmed by a burst of light that bloomed behind them.

"I don't know," Zexion murmured, turning at the sound of something crashing down to the concrete floor. "—but we should get outside as soon as possible."

"Agreed."

The exits were starting to clear up as the last few droves of people evacuated the Pit, but Roxas and his friends didn't make it that far; something huge and heavy came hurtling down in front of them, stopping them in their tracks. At first, Roxas thought it was a large support from the ceiling, but the thing in front of them was nothing like any architecture he had ever seen; nearly six feet tall and endless from side to side, made of broad, scabrous texture and glinting silver in the dusty backup lighting. It looked almost…reptilian?

"Shit."

A terrible, inhuman cry shattered the air—the trio covered their ears and backed away from the bizarre obstruction, which proceeded to lift sluggishly into the air before smashing back to the ground, shaking the venue with disturbing force.

"RUN!" Roxas hastily shoved the other two forward. "Head for the next exit—_hurry!"_

They tried to make a break for it, but the massive tail came swinging around, nearly bowling them over as it cut off their escape. Roxas cursed and spun around, coming face to face with the absolute _last _thing he wanted to see right now.

A colossal creature stood before them, its sizable, winding body patched together by scant patches of light as it loomed over them, nearly three stories high. A square head with rigid angles pointed down at them, fierce eyes tracing their every move, serrated mouth ajar.

"…Is that a dragon?"

Zexion was displaying a commendable lack of shock at the sight of a mythical monster attacking the venue.

"Yep," Demyx squeaked, gaping up at the thing with comically wide eyes. "Don't move! They see motion."

"Demyx, that notion was disproved _years_ ago," Zexion returned casually, as if they _weren't _all about to die.

Roxas noticed with a lurch of his stomach that the dragon's tail was encircling them. If they were quick, they might be able to jump over the tapered end before they got trapped. "Follow me," he breathed, darting madly for escape with the others close behind.

The dragon let out another nasty roar, head diving down to smite them, tail whipping up defensively and winding all three of them in the stomach. The next few seconds were a black blur of howling and snapping teeth, rolling and flailing bodies and startled cries as the boys scrambled around, dodging death in the form of bloodthirsty teeth with last-minute reflexes and painful bursts of adrenaline.

Roxas couldn't keep track of the others—it was all he could do to keep flinching back and forth, tumbling with mere inches separating him from a gruesome demise. Whenever the opportunity arose he would hurl himself forward, trying desperately to push as much ground between him and the dragon as possible. He caught the flash of an exit sign and moved toward it, but was flattened under one of the creature's aggressive claws at the last second. He watched the sign pull away, sick and dismayed as he was dragged backward, fingernails grinding against the concrete in a hopeless attempt at resistance.

"_They won't pull anything in a crowd like the one at the concert. So don't worry your pretty little head about it."_

He frowned angrily into the concrete. He'd known this was a bad idea. He'd just _known. _"Goddammit, Axel…"

-o-o-o-

"I gotta hand it to you," Axel sneered bitterly, propping himself limply against the wall of the corridor. "You guys sure know how to crash a party."

Kadaj had gotten to his feet and was glowering through the low light. "He wasn't supposed to transform," he hissed, sorely missing his stolen sword as he grabbed at the air surrounding his sheath. "This whole operation would have gone smoothly if you had minded your own business."

"Yeah, but then you and your little band of _misfits _would have won again, and we can't have that, now can we?"

"Hn." Kadaj spared a neutral look down the track-lit corridor, where Sora and Riku had sped out of sight moments before. He turned back to Axel with that same unreadable gaze, his right hand flexing as if it would bring his sword back. "So what now, Lea? You're in no condition to fight, and I can't finish you because little brother seems to have taken my sword."

The charcoal burn in the back of Axel's throat was officially outweighing the pain in his stomach. Being around Kadaj and his gang brought out the absolute worst in him, and he hated it—the craving was incinerating him from the inside out. God, he could use a smoke right now.

"Well, for starters," he rasped, clenching his stomach and swallowing dryly. "You can quit calling me _Lea. _It's not my name anymore."

"Oh, alright then," Kadaj agreed edgily. "Why don't I start calling you _traitor _instead?"

"Try _Axel."_

"Betrayer?"

"Axel."

"Backstabber."

"A-X-E-L. Get it memorized."

"Scum."

"I think you're missing the point."

Kadaj rushed up and pinned Axel to the wall by his neck.

"_Ack! _Sheesh, don't take it personally," he choked out.

"Well, one thing is for sure," Kadaj said slowly. "Your bark is still _much _worse than your bite."

"_Puh, _says the guy whose ass I thoroughly kicked on a regular basis."

"I don't think you're in any position to be mouthing off."

Axel wriggled uncomfortably in the silverette's grip. He was right. Between the blinding pain in his stomach and the unbearable burn in his throat, Axel really wasn't in any kind of fighting shape, and he probably shouldn't have been talking so big. Kadaj may be weaponless, but at least _he _had his health. He didn't need a sword to wreck Axel six ways from Sunday, and they both knew that.

"You know it really is a shame, _Axel." _Kadaj released his throat and took a step back. "The _Flurry _would never have stood for such abuse. …To this day I don't understand why you left. Everything was going so well; we were finally rising to power—"

"There's more to life than power, Kadaj," Axel cut in. "The sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be."

"Look at you," Kadaj sneered. "Bleeding out from your own stupidity and pretending that it's the right thing to do. Can you really say you're _better off? _Can you really convince yourself that you're happier without us? Living among people who could never truly understand you? Can you really _lie _and say you're _glad _you abandoned your own kind to be with the people who openly _scorn us?"_

A hint of laughter rippled in Axel's voice. "Our _kind?"_

"Yes," Kadaj continued, unfazed. "Our _kind. _The Lunumbra didn't come into existence by mere _chance. _It's a refuge for creatures like us. It's acceptance."

"Embracing the curse and using it to terrorize the innocent isn't _acceptance, _Kadaj. It's tyranny."

"Call it what you will." Kadaj started sauntering away, heading in the direction of another monstrous roar that bellowed from inside the venue. "Once Riku knows the truth, he'll be just as eager to join us as _you _once were."

Axel wanted to act; to do _something_, but he was completely drained. He settled for glaring daggers at Kadaj's retreating form instead. "Once Riku knows the truth," he iterated waspishly, "he'll be _disgusted."_

-o-o-o-

"…What're you planning to do with _that?"_

Satisfied that Kadaj wasn't following them, and none too eager about confronting the chaos inside the venue, Sora and Riku were walking through the low-lit corridor slowly winding its way up through the building. The crowds had cleared out from the lower levels, which was just as well, because Riku was still carrying the dual-bladed sword he'd swiped from Kadaj, and that probably would have alarmed a few people. Especially since the blades bore drying streaks of Axel's blood.

"I dunno," he shrugged. "I just didn't want _him _to have it."

"That's probably for the best."

"Hey, Sora?"

"Hm?"

Riku parried the sword around at his side, being careful not to nick himself in the leg. It was surprisingly light. "That thing you did back there, with the mop? That was…_impressive._ How'd you do it?"

There was no way of seeing whether Sora was blushing in the sparing light, but his bashful half-smile worked just as well. He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "I…actually don't know, to be honest. I've never done anything like that before."

"Not even in…uh…" Crap. What did he call them? "Suffer matches?"

Sora chuckled. "You mean _Struggle _matches?"

"…Yeah. What you said."

More chuckling. "I've never been in a Struggle before. That's Roxas' thing. …I have always wanted to give it a try, though."

"It looks like you'd be pretty decent at it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

They walked in silence for a few moments, during which Riku presented the sword for Sora to inspect. The brunette took it hesitantly, dutifully minding the lethal edges of the blades, and weighed it curiously in his grip, face focused in thought. After a while he said, "You wanna hear something weird, Riku?"

"Shoot."

"What I did back there…it wasn't my idea. I mean, I didn't even think about it. It just _happened. _And what's even weirder is that…" The blades clinked when Sora tightened his grip on the handle, and Riku couldn't help but notice how…_at home _the sword seemed in his hand; like he really _had _held one before, even if he _did _claim otherwise.

"I know I grabbed a mop—I guess 'cause it was the closest thing to me—but…in that moment I felt like…like it should have been something else. Like something was supposed to happen…but didn't."

"What, you mean like a _real _sword just…_magically appearing_ in your hands?"

Sora grinned and gave Riku's shoulder a shy nudge. "Shut up. I know it's dumb."

Riku nudged him back with a smile. "Stranger things have happened in this world."

_Believe me. _

"Oh yeah? And I assume you're speaking from _personal experience?"_

He knew Sora was only joking, but that didn't stop the sliver of ice from cutting through his chest. If anyone could attest to the existence of 'strange things' in the world, it was Riku; and after Sora's little confession about mops and magical swords, he was seriously wondering if maybe he _could _open up to Sora. Every moment spent with the brunette made the idea seem less and less ludicrous, and the longer he was around Sora, the more he found he _wanted _to spill. He _wanted _to tell Sora the truth—not because Sora was prying or curious, but because he...well, he _trusted _Sora.

Riku trusted Sora.

They'd barely known each other a week and already Riku felt he could confide in Sora about anything—even his curse. It was the strangest thing. But then, Riku wasn't one to question strange things.

"...Sora, I—"

A sudden, beastly roar startled them both, and after sharing a frightened glance, they bolted for the next entrance to the venue to see what caused it.

Their travels had placed them somewhere in the first ten rows of seats, railed off from the Pit several feet below, where a great commotion was churning in the darkness.

"What...What _is _that thing?" Sora pointed at a series of white shapes that were thrashing through the shadows. Chunks of the high ceiling had started crumbling loose, letting in falling beams of daylight that played across the amphitheater, better revealing the massive thing rumbling in its depths. "It looks like a…"

A dragon.

_Like…me? _Was it really possible that that man…Kadaj, could be…his…

"_Ah! _Riku, look down there!"

Riku peered into the Pit and saw three people being actively tormented by the creature, and quickly recognized them as their friends—one of whom was Sora's brother.

They watched in horror as Roxas was snagged by a monstrous claw and drawn back across the concrete, kicking and writhing to no avail. The creature pinned him like common prey, its head angled to strike, teeth flashing under a stray beam of light.

"_Roxas!"_

Thunderstruck by the sight of another dragon, Riku didn't even see Sora move until it was too late. Still carrying the sword, Sora jumped the railing into the Pit and charged into the unraveling scene. Terrified of what would happen, Riku took off after him, all the while calling for him to stop.

Sora didn't hear a single plea—he ran right up to his claw-trapped brother, standing right in the line of attack with Kadaj's sword at the ready. Just as the monster's massive, teeth-bearing head came rushing for them, Sora gave the sword an expert flourish and drove it into the silvery flesh of the dragon's claw, slashing out again with a dramatic spray of blood. This earned an ear-splitting shriek as the dragon reared up in pain, giving Roxas a chance to escape. Sora hauled him off the ground and shoved him into a run; he joined up with the others and darted for the nearest exit. Sora turned to retreat, but was stopped by the dragon's injured claw swinging and smashing him against the wall of the Pit.

"SORA!"

It wasn't even a thought in his mind—Riku bolted to Sora's side, too stricken with panic to mind the dragon's enraged thrashing. Heart hammering, he dropped to his knees beside Sora, who had crumpled lifelessly to the ground after hitting the wall so violently.

"Sora? Sora!" He rolled the brunette onto his back and shook him frantically. "C'mon, Sora, don't do this to me." To his indescribable relief, Sora shifted responsively and groaned, reaching vaguely for his head before passing out again. After flitting a hand around Sora's head and finding no blood, Riku relaxed and remembered how to breathe again. Sora was going to be alright. Everything was going to be alright. Riku told this to himself with confidence, but something inside of him was boiling regardless.

Seeing his only real friend so dangerously close to dying, the pain and the worry, the thought that anyone, _anyone _would _dare _hurt Sora—it suddenly had him seeing red. He gathered Sora up in his arms protectively and glowered murderously at the dragon. He didn't know how he was connected to these people—these _monsters _like him—and he didn't care. First Axel, now Sora…it was unforgiveable and he wasn't going to stand for it.

The dragon glowered right back at him and lunged for them with a vicious cry—but the strike never landed.

Riku couldn't control it anymore, the anger roaring in his blood. It flowed akin to the overwhelming misery he'd suffered the night his amulet glowed, but this time it was different; _so _different. Where misery had seethed wildly the anger was focused like a crosshair. All of that pain that once threatened to destroy him was suddenly an entity to command, a twisted force dwelling inside and waiting to launch. It rose and churned and hummed in his chest, his head, his arms, _everywhere, _a great swath of energy that surrounded him, consumed him, that came bursting from his skin and bones, from his very tortured heart in a flurry of black mist that hovered from him like an aura and exploded—thundering out in dynamic tremors that shook the room. He felt it rumbling through the air, shredding against the dragon's flesh and tearing into it like raw ice. The dragon let out an agonized scream and went reeling backward, smashing up through the rows of seating and disappearing in a thick shadow at the top of the amphitheater.

Watching the overgrown lizard flee, a warm feeling washed over Riku. He felt appeased. He felt _triumphant. _He didn't even know why. He supposed he was just satisfied that the bastard had gotten a taste of his own medicine. That'll teach 'em to hurt his Sora!

Er…Sora in general.

Not his.

Just Sora.

Dammit.

The black mist faded like clouds of smoke, snapping apart wherever light was shed, and Riku looked down to find Sora stirring sorely in his arms. His blue eyes pried open and winced at the sunlight dropping from the ceiling. "Ri? Ugh….What happened?" Riku's heart fluttered at his new nickname, and he held out his hands to guard Sora while he sat up slowly, convinced that he was still too weak to support himself. Sora groaned again and doubled over with his face in his hands. "I feel like I got hit by a truck," he croaked, moving to rub the back of his head.

He might have been better off with a truck.

Riku was about to respond, but Sora spoke again, "...What the…?" He ran a hand over his cheek and held out his palm, yelping when he saw it covered in viscous red blood. He looked himself over in growing terror, taking in the extensive sprays of blood staining his skin and clothes.

"It's not your blood," Riku said quickly, patting Sora gently on the shoulder. "You used your secret sword-wielding powers to save Roxas—"

"—and then got pimp-slapped by a giant white dragon," a cocky voice supplied. They turned around to see Axel hobbling toward them with the help of Roxas, whose face was caught in some painful combination of shock and relief. "You okay there, Sunshine?"

"I think so…"

Riku helped Sora to his feet, and the brunette immediately wobbled and pitched dizzily to one side, whimpering something about his back killing him.

"Here, hop on." Riku turned around and pulled Sora onto his back. After a couple of pained grunts, Sora situated himself and curled his arms around Riku's neck, burying his face in the silverette's hair with an exhausted sigh.

"We'll have an EMT look at him," Axel nodded consolingly, swiveling around with Roxas to leave. "Y'know, just to make sure his spinal cord doesn't look like a trashed slinky."

"You're seeing them, too," Roxas muttered, giving Axel's belt a staunch tug.

"I don't need no _stinkin'_ doctor," the redhead drawled, mussing Roxas' hair and earning an angry frown.

"Axel, there's a _hole _in your _stomach," _he snipped, shaking his head persistently. "You've already ignored my advice once today; and we all saw how well _that_ turned out."

"Feh."

"You're going to the hospital, Axel. Even if I have to _drag you there myself." _To prove his point, Roxas reached up and knotted his fingers in Axel's rambunctious hair, then proceeded to yank the taller man along, pointedly ignoring his cries. "Ow-ow-ow-ow. Rox—_ow! _Ack! I said OW! WOMAN! You're making it—_AH—_worse! C'mon, Roxy Baby, I was just kid—GAH!"

Even in his enfeebled state, Sora managed a small, breathy laugh that trickled past Riku's ear and gave him an agreeable chill. A faint smile stretched his lips for a moment, but fell away when he noticed the other two guys—whose names escaped him, though he recognized their faces and distinctively unusual hairstyles—and the unreadable expressions they were wearing. Shouldn't they have been freaking out? A giant _dragon _had just _attacked _the venue! …He wondered if they weren't in on the same secret as Axel—if the sight of fantastical creatures wasn't all that strange to them. And then there was that whole thing with the "darkness explosion" that Riku himself didn't even understand, and they didn't seem ruffled by that either.

Riku had lived with the curse almost all his life, yet being around these people had him feeling like he was standing on the tip of a monumental iceberg, the girth of which was hidden in dark, frozen waters below him. The only one who didn't make him feel like an outsider looking in was Sora, who may have had a few odd secrets to share, but at least he wasn't cryptic and creepy about it.

Riku decided to lay it down for the time being—he'd harass Axel about it after the man had a chance to recuperate. He wasn't really in any hurry, and now that he knew who had sent that enigmatic note, it wasn't as worrisome to him. His primary focus for the next few days would be to try and take Sora's mind off of the concert incident, because after getting completely abused by one vicious white dragon, he highly doubted Sora would be eager to see another.

As the six of them trudged up through the Fantasy Dome's levels, Riku assumed Sora was asleep until he mumbled something unintelligible in Riku's ear.

"What was that?"

"I said, I'm glad you came with us. And…I'm glad you were there for me, 'cause…" Sora fisted his hands in Riku's jacket and nuzzled into the side of his neck. "…I was scared," he confessed quietly. "I know I went charging in like it was nothing, but… I mean, I had to do _something _to help Roxas… On the inside, I was terrified…and I was really happy to see you back there, so…y'know."

"Sora…" Riku could feel his heart thumping in his ears, an unfamiliar heat riding up the back of his neck. He turned his head slightly, instantly embarrassed—and a little allured—by how close their faces were. He could see the silhouette of Sora's lashes dusting his cheek, soft tendrils of warm breath tumbling from his lips and ghosting mere inches away from Riku's. "I'd never let anything bad happen to you," he murmured honestly. "Well, I kinda did today, but…you know what I mean."

"Yeah," he felt Sora's chuckle more than he heard it, "I know what you mean. …Hey, Riku?"

"Huh?"

"This is gonna sound kinda weird, but…do you…" he cleared his throat, sending a quick vibration through Riku's shoulder.

"Do you wanna be best friends with me, Riku?"

…Best friends?

…With Sora?

Was it possible for the heart to plummet into someone's gut and then sprout wings?

"Are you…do you mean it?"

Another weak chuckle. Sora rubbed Riku's shoulder hearteningly. "Of course I mean it, silly."

Riku was completely floored. No one had ever asked him that before. No one had been able to mind their damn business long enough to get to know him…let alone come to _like _him. Sora truly never ceased to amaze him, and leave him totally _speechless,_ and he couldn't help but love it. Before he knew it, Riku was smiling like an idiot (for the umpteenth time that day) and holding a little tighter to Sora's legs. "I…Yeah. I'd like that. …I'd like that a lot."

"Then it's official!" Sora squeezed him in a hug of sorts, resting his chin on Riku's shoulder and grinning happily. "You're my best friend, Riku."

All Riku could do in response was knock his head lightly against the brunette's, but they both knew that it meant the same thing. Riku could tell; the stupid smile on his stupid face wasn't going away anytime soon—and he didn't want it to.

_You're my best friend, Sora._

* * *

**A/N: Insulin shots, anyone? Got 'em for free right over hurr. :D I figured since this was a Christmas present of sorts, I would give it a happy fluff-tastic ending. ^-^ Also, things have been kinda scary/depressing/stab-happy these past couple of chapters, and I think I owe it to you guys to lighten it up. **

**SO. Lots o' crap went down in this chapter, and you know what that means… A PLOT HAS BEGUN TO DEVELOP! And I managed to post this by the 25****th**** like I promised. **

**It's a Christmas miracle! (oOo)_(oOo)**

**Anywho, the usual author's note blabber:**

**Chapter 12 is on the way so stay tuned!**

**Review for a chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**Happy Holidays, guys! **

**-Slay**


	12. Frigid Get-Together

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or Final Fantasy, or the locations/characters borrowed herein. I am, however, responsible for shameless crossovers that make no sense logically. :D**

**A/N: Nothing new to report. ONWARD!**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 12

Frigid Get-Together

-o-o-o-

"You didn't have to trash the concert."

She _really _hated visiting this place, with its ethereal ice trees, and derelict buildings; a ruined city forged from mammoth conch shells and the Sleeping Forest's white, ghostly hide. She stood at the edge of a glassy midnight lake, cold breath rolling out of her mouth, invisible in the northern air.

"And _you _didn't have to turn tail and run when your own _brother _was having an _episode," _one of the three figures across the lake retorted snidely, tossing a long strand of silver hair over his shoulder.

"I'm not his babysitter," Paine hissed. Like it was _her _fault Loz couldn't control himself. _Puh. _The man was an overgrown child. What the hell did they want _her _to do about it? Put him in _time out?_

"Play nice, you two," Kadaj placated. "What happened in the City happened, and we have more important things to discuss." He motioned at Paine across the lake. "We're glad to see you, sister. Come inside."

She wished she could say _I'm not your damn sister. _She really, _really _did. They may only have been half-siblings, but she was still tied to these psychopaths by blood, and she hated it openly. It was all thanks to their father, who apparently hadn't been able to control himself either.

Five children by three different women—that they knew of. Granted, Kira had finally died, and looking at it logically, they were very certain Riku was the last child he ever sired, but he'd been able to avoid them for over a _hundred years_. That had to be the longest anyone had ever gone without the Lunumbra finding them. It wasn't impossible that there were others, but it was improbable, and until they had Riku pegged, it didn't even matter.

Paine sighed and stepped out onto the water—the same magic that kept it fluid in the unforgiving tundra caused it to congeal solidly under her feet, gradually forging a bridge of black ice for her to cross. She reached the pallid island at the center of the lake, then followed Kadaj and Yazoo into the curling body of an elaborate conch house, where the first thing she saw was Loz hunkered dejectedly along the wall, glaring holes into the floor.

Apparently "time out" wasn't so unreasonable after all.

The house only had one floor, unlit, with its ceiling taking the interior shape of the shell it was carved into. Sharp windows were cut into the swirling curves of the walls, letting in smooth trails of hoary light from outside that painted an arrangement of simple but fitting chairs around a featureless round table. Paine and Yazoo took seats at the table, while Loz stayed sulking on the floor and Kadaj paced the room thoughtfully.

"I'm afraid we have a problem," he said bluntly. "Uncle will be here any day now, and he's looking forward to meeting our little brother."

Paine crossed her arms, uninterested already. "And?"

"_And _our little brother isn't _here," _Yazoo snipped. "We promised him a new nephew, and he won't be pleased to see we failed him."

"We just _found_ the kid _two days ago. _These things take time; Uncle knows that."

"Maybe under normal circumstances," Kadaj amended, circling the table a little more anxiously. "But Riku is a special case, remember?"

Paine rolled her eyes. "So his mom was a witch. So what?"

"So _what?" _Kadaj stopped pacing and stared at her dumbfounded. "The blood of a witch and a Lunumbra is a _very potent mix, _Paine! We can't just let him wander around unchecked! Uncle will—"

Overturning her chair and slamming her fists on the table, Paine snarled, "I don't _care! _All this time he hasn't been causing _any _trouble, and we have no business messing with him! If Uncle wants to meet Riku so badly, he should just go _get him himself!"_

"Now _there's _an idea."

All four of them froze—even Loz looked up from his brooding, eyes wide. Paine turned slowly and felt her heart sink at the man standing in the entryway. Kadaj swept across the room with his hands up, as if trying to pacify some wild animal. "U-Uncle! We weren't expecting you for a few more days! What…what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I can never stay away from you children for too long," the man crooned, resting his hand on Kadaj's head in a gesture that might have been affectionate had Kadaj not cringed under the touch. "Besides, I heard you were having a little _trouble _reaching this newfound brother of yours, and I thought I might offer some assistance."

"You don't need to do that," Kadaj said quickly. "The concert was a setback, yes, but Little Brother will be with us soon—we'll bring him to Whirlwind for you. Please don't trouble yourself, Uncle…"

"Nonsense," their uncle shook his head, causing his own mane of unearthly silver hair to sway over his shoulders. "It would be my pleasure." His aureate eyes twinkled chillingly. "We _are _family, after all."

Paine swallowed thickly, focus straying into space as distressing thoughts filled her mind.

Her brothers were bad. There was no denying that. They didn't think twice before inflicting havoc and suffering on whomever they pleased—but they were practically children. And if the _children _were that bad… Well, their uncle was clan leader for a reason, and it had nothing to do with his _benevolence._

She didn't even _know _Riku, and yet she found herself suddenly sick with worry. He could outrun _them _as much as he liked, but he didn't stand a chance against Superior.

No one did.

* * *

**A/N: Short. Short. I know! This was just a quick in-between chapter. Hehe. Get it? In-between? Superior of the In-Between? Xemnas? No? Okay.**

**-Clan: a group of dragons *hyuck***

**Chapter 13 (ROXAS *heart*) coming up soon! Review for a chakram cookie~ Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**Seeya!**

**-Slay**


	13. Lay Low

**Disclaimer: If Jane has 12 apples and Joey has 4, and the train left the station at 3:15 with no less than 47 passengers, how many franchises do I own? The answer is "none".**

**This is why I have a solid C in math.**

**A/N: Proof-reading what?**

**Useless Fact That Doesn't Get Posted Regularly At All: Elephants are the only mammals who can't jump. Poor elephants. :(**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 13

Lay Low

-o-o-o-

"So is that like, your favorite jacket, or what?"

"Uh…what do you mean?"

Sora shrugged and lazily flipped a page in one of the comic books he had heaped on the floor of his bedroom. "It's just…you wear it all the time, so I figured you must really like it or something."

Riku tugged self-consciously at the front of his jacket, then set to playing with the drawstrings of his hood. "Oh, its…"

_All I own?_

"…just the way I dress," he said blandly.

After polishing off his current comic, Sora propped his chin in his palm and started rolling his gaze over Riku's dark, conservative clothes with scrutiny. "Don't you get hot at all?"

He wasn't sure how, but Riku actually felt a little flushed at the way Sora was eying him. Er, his _clothes. _The way Sora was eying his _clothes_. …Right. No reason to get flustered over that.

Riku shook a hand through his hair in an attempt to distract himself. "Not…really."

Sora gave him some sort of slanted look before flipping onto his back and folding his hands under his head. "You'll get plenty hot this afternoon," he told the ceiling.

"Wh-What?"

After the scaly fiasco at the concert, the day had pretty much deteriorated; Demyx and Zexion—as Riku had finally learned to call them—had gone their own way without a word, the paramedics had declared that Sora was battered but unharmed, Axel was carted off smirking by two panicking EMTs, and, despite his obvious, nagging desire to look after Axel, Roxas had taken the keys to Betsy and driven them home. Sora had fallen asleep in the car again (more like passed out, and understandably), and after hauling him up to his bed and fielding a really unsettling look from Roxas, Riku had wandered back to the mansion in the woods, where he decided to lay low for the rest of the day.

An uneventful night and a not-so early morning later, Riku found himself sitting on the polished wood flooring of Sora's bedroom with the brunette, who, aside from an occasional groan over something sore in his back, showed no signs of having been pummeled by a giant dragon the day before. Riku had been under the impression that Sora would be way too exhausted to do anything today, and was therefore completely confused.

"There's gonna be a parade down Market Street later," Sora explained. "Along with games and vendors in the Common. There'll be stuff going on all over town, all day." He pointed vaguely in Riku's direction. "And you're gonna roast like a pig if you wear that. It's s'posed to get up in the nineties, maybe the hundreds."

A parade?

"Are you sure you're up for it? I mean, your back…"

"My back's fine!" Sora huffed and flopped back onto his stomach, pushing up and leaning toward Riku indignantly. He was about to say something, but a sudden pained wince cut him off; he flattened out on the floor, whimpering, arching his back slightly so his hand could knead at the sore spot.

Riku pursed his lips at the sight, moving to Sora's side and hovering over him. When the boy was done writhing, Riku shook his head. "Yeah, I'm not taking you to any parades," he said.

Sora pouted. "Rikuuuu…"

"In fact," Riku gathered Sora up and moved him over to his bed, which was mildly tousled from the night. "If you're going anywhere, it's the hospital, because I'm starting to think there's actually something wrong with you." He made to set Sora down, but the boy squirmed and clung stubbornly to him like the bed was sharp with rusty nails.

"No-no-no-no-no! Riku! There's nothing wrong with my back! It's just a little sore, that's all!"

"Having sudden bursts of crippling pain doesn't count as _sore, _stupid." Riku tried once more to manhandle his friend into bed where he belonged, but Sora clamped his arms around Riku's neck and leaned up until their noses were almost touching, his blue eyes darkened by an unusually grave stare.

"I _said _I'm _fine," _he hissed.

He didn't have to sound so waspish—Riku was already paralyzed by how close they were, being in a position which he was slowly starting to realize was a bit on the compromising side. The harsh irritation in Sora's voice startled him, and all he could do was nod dumbly.

"Now put me down."

Another muted nod. He set Sora down on his feet and took a step back, driving his hands into his pockets.

"That's better." Sora crossed his arms triumphantly, but after a moment he flinched again, his hands flying to his back. When Riku looked at him expectantly, he shook his head and wandered to the other side of the room. "I'll just take some painkillers or something."

"Sora…"

"It's fine, Ri."

With his mouth set in a worried line, Riku followed Sora through the hallway and downstairs to the kitchen, where the brunette threw back a couple of pills with a short glass of water. He moved to stretch out his back and hissed.

"Is your back still bothering you?"

They both looked into the den from over the open kitchen counter. Roxas was curled around his cell phone in an armchair off to the side, but he wasn't the one who had spoken. Their attention swiveled to an older man settled in the couch across from the entertainment center, his arm drawn over the back and his head craned around to face them. From under an upward shock of flaxen hair a single, bright blue eye regarded Sora doubtfully.

"It's just a little sore from yesterday, Cloud," Sora defended, strolling casually into the den and lingering behind the couch. As far as Riku knew, Roxas was still the only member of the family who knew how Sora had _really _hurt his back. The story the rest of them got was that he had been knocked back on the bleachers in the chaos. "Nothing some meds won't solve."

"_Mhm."_

"What?"

"What're you doing today?"

Sora plunged into an elaborate itinerary—he was really hell-bent on that stinking parade—but Riku didn't hear much of it because Cloud pinned that radioactive stare on him like he had just trained a gun on Sora. He floundered a little at first, then steeled his expression in the hopes that Cloud would look away. Soon. Because damn. How the hell could a man that intimidating be related to _Sora?_

"…and this year, I am _going to win _that stupid skateboard—"

"I think you should stay home today."

The brunette snapped out of his yammering, his face drooping into freshly disappointed pout. "How come?"

Cloud finally flashed his eyes away from Riku, who let out a soundless sigh of relief. "Strange things have been going on, Sora," he said plainly, standing up and wending his way into the kitchen. He pulled open the fridge and slipped Riku an ominously unreadable look. "_Very _strange things."

Riku didn't even try to hide how much that comment startled him. He had to make a conscious effort to remind himself that there was no way, in heaven or in hell, that Cloud could possibly know about him. Sora _definitely _didn't know, and he was almost positive Roxas didn't know either; but the harder he tried to believe that his secret was safe, the more it felt like he was just grabbing fistfuls of sand, sitting and watching it trickle through his knuckles no matter how tightly he held it.

He wasn't sure where the sudden boldness came from, but Riku dared a rather impudent grimace at Cloud, who took it in his stride and swept out of the kitchen with a drink in hand. "Leon and the others have noticed some suspicious activity down around Hollow Bastion lately, and they think it might be connected to the terrorist attack on the venue."

Yes, apparently _Giant Dragon Destroys Music Concert _was too outrageous a headline, so the media was passing yesterday off as an internal terrorist attack perpetrated by an anonymous group.

"What does that have to do with the parade?" Sora perched himself on the back of the couch.

Cloud's response was cut off by a tuneful ringing sound. Across the room, Roxas jolted and fumbled to answer his cell phone. "_Hello? _…Y-yes, is he…? …What? He—He did _what?" _Roxas slammed his phone shut and flung himself out of the chair, cursing and storming toward the front door.

"Who was that, Rox…as…?"

Sora watched in distress as his twin flew past him, stomped into a pair of shoes and tore out the door, slamming it behind him without even the slightest hint at an explanation. After Roxas was gone, Sora slouched a little, his brow newly worried as he glanced between Cloud and Riku. "Do you think something happened to Axel? He's still in the hospital, right?"

"Maybe there was a complication with his injury."

Sora gasped at Cloud's theory. "I hope he's okay!"

"I'm sure Axel's _fine, _Sora." Riku left the relative safety of the kitchen and came to stand by the brunette behind the couch. He did his best to lean casually, sliding his hands into his pockets and angling a fortified leer at Cloud. "And I'm sure _we'll _be fine if we stop by that parade later."

Something very unpleasant fell over Cloud's face, but Riku chose to focus on the bubbly way Sora leapt off the couch and tugged excitedly on his arm instead. "Yes! I knew you'd come around, Riku! We're gonna have _soooo _much fun! I'm _so _glad you changed your mind!"

Riku couldn't help the smug curve of his lips when Cloud scowled and sauntered off with a simple, "Be careful." He broke into a full-fledged smile as Sora continued to rave about the parade.

"—and it's gonna be the best day ever! I know the other day was kinda like the best day ever, but this best day ever is gonna be _even better! _Oh, but before the parade, we gotta get you some new threads."

"…Huh?"

Sora smiled and gave one of Riku's hood strings an insistent tug before striding over to the foyer and picking out a pair of sandals. He nodded for Riku to join him, which the silverette did with a wary cock of his head.

"Remember what I said about roasting like a pig?"

-o-o-o-

"Axel, _tell _me you didn't…"

First, he had driven to the hospital on the north side of the city—a solid half-hour drive in _Betsy, _the honest-to-God _crappiest _car he had _ever_ seen—then, after learning that his idiot-ass friend had _discharged himself from the hospital _after less than twenty-four hours in _intensive care, _Roxas had spent another forty-five minutes tracking the moron to their favorite rock club. On the _south side._

When Roxas found him, Axel was strung out over a booth in the corner, tipping back a bottle of beer and nodding agreeably to the slow guitar riffs trailing through the smoky shadows. He spotted Roxas and rattled the bottle at him. "I know, I know…I said I'd lay off the booze, but it's a special occasion. I survived a fatal injury. We should be celebrating!" He motioned for Roxas to join him in the booth, but the blonde just slammed his hands on the table and leaned over it with a black look.

"Axel this is _serious!" _He hissed. He looked around the room distrustfully and slithered furtively into the booth, keeping his voice low and angry. "You had a _hole ripped through your stomach _yesterday—everyone saw it! And the _very next morning_ you _waltzed_ right out like nothing happened! _In front of everybody! _ Could you _be _any more _obvious?!"_

"It was one hell of a miracle, huh?" Axel sipped at his beer and threw an arm over Roxas' shoulders. "Full recovery. …I'd offer you a cold one," he drawled apologetically. "But you're underage. Want a soda? Or something virgin? I won't even make any sex jokes this time—"

"_You used your curse-magic, didn't you?!" _Roxas snatched the beer bottle out of Axel's hand and thumped it on the table. "Dammit, Axel, you _promised _me you wouldn't _do _this anymore!"

Axel sat up and propped his arm on the table, lowering his face to Roxas' and speaking under his breath. "Did you _want _me to bleed to death?"

"N-No…Of course not." His rage depleted, Roxas dropped his eyes and saw the jagged, dark-edged tears in Axel's shirt, which revealed strips of his flawlessly healed stomach. He shook his head. "But…couldn't you have…parceled it out? I mean, this isn't _normal, _Axel. People are _going _to catch on—"

"Aw, Rox…" Axel squeezed Roxas' shoulders and pressed his lips to the blonde's temple. "Remember that promise I made," he murmured. "Back when I first came here?"

Roxas nodded mutely, his nose bumping against the redhead's chin. "You said…that you'd always be there for me."

"And how am I s'posed to do that if I'm lying in a hospital bed for weeks on end?"

"How are you supposed to do that if you're in a government holding cell?" Roxas countered unhappily. "People are going to notice things like this, Axel." He moved in close and prodded Axel in the chest, keeping his voice cautiously quiet. "The _Lunumbra _are going to notice."

"C'mon…" The redhead rested back against the booth with a distressed sigh.

"They're already after you," Roxas persisted. "And stunts like this are only going to make their job easier."

"How? It's not like they don't know where I live."

"No, but suppose the public caught wind of you? Suppose the _police _caught wind of you? Kadaj would happily help them lock you away where you could never bother him again."

"Roxas, please…" Axel rolled his eyes and reached for his beer, but Roxas shoved it out of his way. "I'm not the target here—"

"Then why did Kadaj go out of his way to try and kill you yesterday?"

"Roxas." When Axel made another lunge for his beer, the blonde grabbed it and dumped it on the tray of a passing waiter, leaving Axel to grimace as his booze traveled clear across the room.

"Maybe you're not their _target," _Roxas allowed. "But as long as you stand between them and Riku, you may as well be."

The expression his friend now wore was neither new nor intimidating to Roxas; the angles of his face were hardened and the shadows were sharpened, his mouth firmed and unsmiling and his toxic eyes cutting through the low light. His posture was fairly reposed, but every inch of him was rigid and poised—a sudden, predatory throwback to the way he'd been when they met. But Roxas didn't back away. He didn't even flinch. He stared Axel down stubbornly until the redhead finally averted his leer—he had much more success boring holes in the table, his fingertip drumming out a nervy rhythm on the wood. Roxas gripped him by the chin and swung his head around until their eyes clashed together again.

"Lay. Low." He asserted. "Please."

Axel tried to tug his face away, but Roxas held fast to his chin, giving him a slight shake to reclaim his attention. "When you showed up on my doorstep four years ago, you told me that all you wantedwas a normal life—with a normal home, and a normal job and normal friends…"

Green eyes softened; just a bit, just around the edges.

Roxas pressed on, "You told me you were tired. You told me you were ready to start over, to do things right. You said—and I quote—_"Blondie, I'm turnin' over a new leaf. Starting fresh. Beginning anew. The past is behind me and the future's full of endless possibilities. I'm a different man now. New and improved. And I'm never going back to the way I was. Got it memorized?" _ He tapped his temple and gave a small, convivial grin.

The bitterness in Axel's features melted instantly, and an easy smile cracked his face. He ruffled Roxas' hair. "Okay, okay, you got me. Point made."

Roxas shook his head. "One more thing," he said. "To drive it home." He slid his arms around Axel's chest and hugged him close. "I've met you as Lea, and I've met you as Axel," he whispered, giving his friend a punctuating squeeze. "And I like Axel a _lot _better."

There was a beat of hesitation before Axel held him in return. When he spoke into the blonde barbs of Roxas' hair, a certain sadness crept into his tone. "Axel and Lea are the same person, Roxas."

"No," Roxas nuzzled determinedly into Axel's shirt, holding on tight. "They _really_ aren't."

* * *

**A/N: I…am…soooooo….sooooorrrrrry. SO incredibly sorry, that this took a month to update where previous chapters took mere days. Sosososososo sorrrry. :C This was going to be another inappropriately massive chapter, but I decided that breaking it in half and posting SOMETHING A-FREAKING-SAP was the better way to go. I also decided to save my ranting for **_**after **_**the chapter, so as not to waste your precious time. …Y'know, more.**

**HAPPY CHAPTER ROXAS! :D**

**X-blade025: Yes, Kira is an OC of mine. He wasn't **_**supposed **_**to be a terrible father. …Or dead. But this is a funny, made-up world we live in, and weird stuff happens. Aw well. **

**And to everyone who didn't realize they were dragons until the author's note in chapter 12: THEY'RE FREAKING DRAGONS. Stop PMing me with how surprised you were. Allow me to cite chapters 6 and 11, where the word "dragon" was used in context specifically, as well as the words "claw", "reptilian" and "overgrown lizard". Pay. Attention. *taps ruler on desk* Now, back to business!**

**The last few chapters have been heavy and not-so-funderful, so we're just gonna screw around for a little bit (just a bit) in chapter 14 to lighten the mood. Then we're gonna keep on chugging with this old plot train. Sound good? Good. Stick around. Chapter 14 is on its way! And to keep you interested, I'm gonna do something OOC and give you a tiny, harmless spoiler: Sora and Riku may or may not be playing dress-up in chapter 14. Just sayin'. **

**It's gonna be fun. **

**Review for a chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**Iloveyouallpleasedon'tgiveuponmekthnxbai**

**-Slay**


	14. The Dressing Room

**Disclaimer: I own an Axel Figma (along with other various Axel-related paraphernalia), but not Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or any of the characters, places or themes therein. Life is cruel. **

**A/N: It just occurred to me: the original outline for this story was only ten chapters long, start to finish. In reality, we are now on chapter fourteen, and the story has barely begun…Oops. xD**

**Useless Fact That Gets Posted About As Regularly As An Incontinent Bowel Movement: The "pound" key, or "hash tag" (#) is actually an "octotroph". And the "and" symbol (&) is called an "ampersand". Use that to dazzle your party guests. Or impress your English teacher. …Or you could just sound like a complete tool in front of your friends. :D**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 14

The Dressing Room

-o-o-o-

"…Yellow."

"…What?"

Sora passed him a cursory glance. "I've decided your color is yellow," he said resolutely.

"That's a little ironic, but okay."

All of the people milling up Market Street were half-naked and glazed in a collective sheen of sweat. As they walked, raw heat radiated up from the bright pavement, rippling through the air like ribbons, mixing and melting the edges of the road in warm puddles of color. The sunlight fell heavy and hot from a brazen blue sky, and Riku could actually feel it seeping through the icy veil of his skin. It was thick and close, and after barely ten minutes in the sun his clothes were starting to feel a bit confining, which was strange.

What was stranger still was that it didn't _burn. _

Upon leaving Sora's house, he had been prepared to hike up his hood and draw it so close that he wouldn't be able to see—but when he stepped out, the light brushed his face without even the slightest sting.

This was not normal.

The only other time he'd been able to tolerate direct sunlight was the other day, when Sora had dragged him up to Sunset Terrace and talked him into eating paopu sherbet ice cream before invading his emotional boundaries.

It didn't make any sense; but then, nothing really made sense to him when Sora was around. Riku was slowly coming to accept this fact as they pushed their way around the bundle of people outside of _Fencer's, _an outfitter that Sora said would be "perfect" for finding Riku "new threads".

Which were apparently going to be yellow.

For no good reason.

As they passed through the open door , a blast of cool air rattled over them, enveloping Riku in an uncomfortable dichotomy of hot and cold. Once he got over that he looked up and was instantly overcome by the onslaught of _colors. _

Fencer's wasn't particularly large—it was a squeezed, single-story affair just like the rest of the shops in Twilight Town—but inside it expanded. Or rather, _exploded._

It looked like a rainbow had come in and vomited all over the place. Clothing of every imaginable dye and design was slung and packed from floor to ceiling, crawling up the walls in piles and racks and mounted displays, with mounds of accessories, belts, shoes, hats and bags spilling from every last nook and completing the store's chaotic motif.

"What the f—"

"Isn't this place amazing?" Sora exclaimed, grabbing Riku's arm and hauling him forward into the rainbow-vomit. They bobbed and wove through narrow, poorly-marked aisles, ducking the arms of displays and avoiding everything that was piled on the floor. "I picture you as more the sporty type," Sora mused. "What do you think?"

"I think my clothes are fine as they are," Riku grumbled, though it wasn't entirely true. Somehow he found the island's heat stifling today, and the thought of lighter attire wasn't particularly unattractive to him.

"There you go being funny again," Sora laughed. "But seriously. I need some feedback, here."

"Ugh."

From there everything was a whirlwind blur of colors and clothing and swinging dressing room doors. Sora threw everything at him; fabrics both slinky and fitted, tight and loose, made of jean and cotton, printed in plaid and stripes and other unappealing patterns. A mound had accumulated of clothes that Riku wouldn't even try on, and a larger mound still had formed of the articles he rejected. By the time an hour had passed, Riku found himself standing in his own jeans and warily eyeing some flashy affair with oddly-cut sleeves. He sighed. "Sora, this is stupid."

"You're stupid!" Sora snapped from the other side of the slatted door. "I don't think I've ever _met_ someone so picky! Seriously, _girls _are easier to shop for than you!"

Riku grunted dismissively and tossed the shirt over the door. "Pardon me for not wanting to look like an idiot."

"_Pardon me for not wanting to look—_blah, blah, blah." He heard the shuffling of the clothes Sora was carting away."I'll go grab something else. …Didn't even try these on," he griped, his voice low and fading. When he came stamping back, Riku expected a new bundle of clothes he wouldn't like to come dropping over the door, and was surprised when the door was wrenched open instead, letting in a cranky brunette with two pieces of clothing draped over his arm.

Riku jumped and flinched to cover himself. "SORA! W-W-What the hell are you doing!?"

"Staying in here," Sora huffed, slamming the door and shoving the clothes in Riku's face. "To make sure you actually try them on before chucking them."

Riku knocked the clothes out of his face, flustered. "You are _not _staying in here while I change." It was a small dressing room. _Very _small. Entirely too small for him to standing there, shirtless, with Sora. Riku couldn't even pretend it didn't affect him anymore, being this close to Sora—with or without his shirt on. No, no, no. Sora could _not _stay in there with him. Especially not if he was going to be taking his pants off…

"Why not?" Sora looked at him, unperturbed, snatching Riku's shirt and jacket off the bench before he could dress and flee. "We're both guys. And it's not like you have anything to be _ashamed _of," he said coyly, slipping Riku a wink before pulling on his usual, innocent—_Innocent my ass!—_smile. "Now go ahead and try these on. I think you'll like 'em."

Sputtering internally, Riku grabbed the clothes. "Turn around," he sniped.

"Are you blushing?"

"I said _turn around."_

"Riku, I didn't know you could _blush!"_

"_Sora."_

The brunette rolled his eyes and turned his back to Riku, clasping his hands behind his head and bobbing on the balls of his feet patiently.

With his eyes darting constantly over to Sora, completely paranoid, Riku set to changing. He worked his way most hurriedly into the pair of navy shorts he'd been given, spending as little time as possible in his underwear with Sora less than three feet away.

"Do you always wear that necklace? I don't think I've seen it before."

Riku paused with the shirt bundled over his arms. It took him a second to realize Sora was talking about his father's amulet, which was strung from his neck and bobbing quietly against his bare chest. "Oh," he muttered, pulling the shirt over his head. "Uh, yeah. My dad gave it to me."

"It's really nice."  
"Thanks."

"You done?"

Riku situated the shirt over his stomach and pulled the amulet out from under it. "Yeah."

Not sure what to do with his arms, Riku just let them hang awkwardly at his sides and braced himself for the same scrutiny he'd been tolerating all day; but when Sora turned around, his face lit up instantly.

"Perfect!"

Riku fidgeted around trying to follow Sora as he circled through the small space, eyeing the new outfit with an appreciative grin. "It looks just like you," he bubbled happily. "Take a look!" He grabbed Riku by the shoulders and spun him around to face himself in the mirror.

Well, it was certainly _new._

Staring at his reflection, Riku took in the clothes that had replaced his usual drab attire: a sleeveless yellow shirt trimmed with black and navy cargo pants held up by a white belt. He felt like the bright colors should have bothered him—maybe melted his eyes or set his skin on fire or something—but somehow, they didn't. They seemed almost…refreshing. And Sora was right. Yellow suited him. Albeit in a weird, sarcastic kind of way.

"…Wow."

"Good, right?"

"…I dunno, Sora…" Maybe it was too drastic a change. And he wasn't sure how he felt about having the lower halves of his legs uncovered like that. Not to mention his arms, his shoulders, his face...What if the sunlight actually started to sting again? What if it actually began to _burn _with all this skin exposed?

Sora's smile didn't falter, but there was a deviously darkened tone to his voice that suggested he was _not _happy with that response. "Riku," he said evenly.

"...Yes?"

"…We have been here for over an hour, and I don't want to do this anymore." The brunette spoke calmly and opened the door, leaning out and picking something up from a hook outside. "So it's either _that," _he pointed at Riku's current outfit as he closed the door again. "Or _this."_

Sora produced a flowery sundress bathed in floral swaths of pink and yellow, hemmed with lace and supported on its hook by two thin shoulder straps.

Riku blanched. "…You wouldn't."

Sora angled a lethal glare at him from under his lashes, one hand holding up the dress, the other propped on his hip. "_Try me."_

"…"

Riku glanced back in the mirror and decided he wanted to live. "Yep, I think this'll do just fine!"

"Great!" Sora hung the dress on a nearby hook, pausing as he went to open the door. "Oh, hold up. Fashion _faux pas." _He moved in front of Riku and reached up around his neck, his fingers gently un-tucking the ends of Riku's hair that had been caught under his collar. When all the silver tips were free, he smoothed them down over the back of Riku's neck like a finishing touch and rested his hands on the taller boy's shoulders with a smile.

"There," he nodded. "All better."

Riku meant to say a simple _thanks _for the gesture, but his mouth wouldn't move—and his brain wasn't really on top of things, either. There was something strange slowing him down, slowing the whole moment down. The world had drifted so far away, like the raft from his dreams had finally reached quiet waters and he and Sora were alone on the endless, shining sea. Like they had survived that terrible black tempest after all. Like they had made it to that lone beacon of light…

He didn't know where it came from. He didn't even know what he was doing until he'd done it. All he knew was that there was this indelible warmth glowing inside him, and that Sora was _so _incredibly close, and so incredibly radiant with the light he'd been chasing for so long that _whatever_ the hell he was doing, it had to be right. It just had to.

He lifted his hands to graze Sora's arms, gazing unabashedly into those transcendent blue eyes, his head dipping until the very fringes of their bangs mingled.

Sora's grip on his shoulders clamped a bit, but he made no move to retreat. He met Riku's stare with an expression just shy of unreadable, its seams softly frazzled by curiosity. He tipped his face up; Riku could feel the slow, summery brush of his breath. He saw the boy's lashes relax over his eyes, felt those hands creep behind his neck, fingers nesting silently in his hair. Those zaffre eyes melted into a smelted shade he'd never seen before, and he caught them stealing quickly down his face, glancing toward his chin before shooting back up to lock stares again.

A gentle tug at his neck, drawing him closer, tapping their noses together. Half-lidded eyes and a low, pleasurable sigh.

"Ri…"

There was no helping it now. He felt his own actions through an intoxicating haze; holding on and closing his eyes, dropping his lips against Sora's with his heart hammering mercilessly in his own ears. A thundering heartbeat later, Sora let out an encouraging sound that buzzed between their mouths and coiled his arms around Riku's neck, pulling them together until he could feel the amulet pressed between their chests. He wrapped his own arms around Sora snugly, and the two of them settled into a delicious little rhythm, a tender give and take that had them swaying against each other in the sweet swelter of their own world.

At least until the dressing room door swung open.

"Anybody in—oh ho...No _wonder _this stall was _occupied _for so long!"

The boys jumped apart, and Riku felt his blood drain at who was standing by the open door.

"Howdy, boy-oh," Mr. Jenkins winked at him.

…Maybe he should have just put the sundress on and quit while he had the chance…

"H-Hey, Mr. J," Sora spluttered, an intense spray of red rising in his cheeks, hands working nervously. "We, uh…We were just in here, uh, getting my friend some new clothes, 'cause he doesn't know how to dress for the seasons—" Despite the blinding awkwardness of the situation, Riku managed to grimace at Sora. "—and he was being really difficult, and I don't even think he was trying half the stuff on before throwing it back, so I came in here and…and…" Completely at a loss for words, Sora jabbed a finger at Riku and blurted, "He kissed _me!"_

"_What?!" _He made it sound like this was all _Riku's _fault! …Okay, maybe it was—but Sora certainly wasn't doing anything to _stop _him!

Mr. Jenkins just chuckled at them good-naturedly. "So, can I ring you boys up, then?"

"Yes, please!" With his face officially the shade of a prize-winning tomato, Sora took Riku by the hand and hauled him clear across the store, where he paid a very amused Mr. Jenkins without making any eye contact whatsoever before dragging them back out into the baking streets of Twilight Town.

* * *

**A/N: …I think we can all agree it was high time something happened. I mean, you know it's bad when you're getting impatient with **_**your own story. **_**Cripes. This has to be the most fun chapter I've written for this story yet, though. Teehee. Naughty Mr. Jenkins. :B**

**Chapter 15 is coming up! Review for a chakram cookie~ Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**With love, from Paris.**

**-Slay**


	15. Plans

**Disclaimer: Imagine, if you will, a cardboard box whose contents amount to no more than air and a piece of frazzled string. What you see before you is the entirety of things I claim to own. Note how Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy are not present in the box. *sob***

**A/N: If you're still reading this thing, kudos, my friend. Kudos to you; because in hindsight, this plot is probably taking a lot longer to develop than necessary, and I'm surprised you're not all bored with it by now. ANYWHO. Onward, ho!**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 15

Plans

-o-o-o-

"Paaaaaaaaaaine! Come on, how much longer are you gonna be at your grandma's house?"

Paine held the phone away from her ear and grimaced. "I told you, it's going to be a while. She's very sick."

"Awwww!"

Guh. She didn't have time for this. What was meant to be a quick call informing her friends of where she was—at least, where she was _pretending _to be—had turned into an all-out whine-fest with their band's most exuberant member, who wouldn't know subtlety if it bit her in the ass.

"But we've got a show in Midgar in like, _three days!"_

"I'm sorry, Rikku," Paine persisted flatly. "I can't do it. You'll just have to get someone else to play."

"Wow…" The chipper voice on the other end dampened, a soft tone of concern weaving into it. "She must be pretty sick, huh? Do you want us to come help?"

"No."

"Paine—"

"Don't wait up." Paine snapped the phone shut before Rikku could respond and slid it into one of her pockets. _Damn. _She had really been looking forward to the next concert, especially after her idiot brothers had ruined the last one; but it looked like she was going to be stuck in the Forgotten Capital longer than she thought. Now that their uncle had made an appearance, she couldn't very well leave—even _if _everyone present (Paine included) knew she was completely useless to them by now.

Paine heaved a despondent sigh before trudging back into the conch house, where her uncle and brothers were scattered about the single room, talking.

"…and what of his element?" Uncle asked. "Have you discovered that yet?"

"Yes," Kadaj answered quickly, seemingly doing everything in his power to keep from wringing his hands nervously. "He's a Shadowcaster. …Like Father."

Their uncle's expression lightened a shade, a trace of genuine surprise trimming the edges of his stark eyes. "Really? You're absolutely certain of this?"

Kadaj nodded earnestly. "Yes! Yes, we saw it with our own eyes. Didn't we?" Yazoo nodded supportively, but Loz was too distracted by the ragged scar that had made itself plain on his right hand to respond. Their uncle glanced briefly at Paine for further confirmation, but all she gave was a disengaged shrug.

"I see…" Uncle started to slowly circle through the room, one arm bent behind his back, the other raised as he stroked his jaw thoughtfully. "How interesting. Who would have thought that the _mutt _would be the one to inherit Kira's power?"

To their uncle, Paine and her brothers had been one colossal disappointment after another. Each of the triplets had mild, energy-based elements that were exceedingly common among their kind. Paine had no element at all, and was seen as a terrible embarrassment to the clan. Not that she cared.

But a Shadowcaster…

A Shadowcaster was exactly what their uncle had been waiting for.

Of the two, Kira was the only son with the prized element, and he hadn't been too keen on humoring his brother's thirst for conquest. This being the case, their uncle had resorted to hunting down any and all children Kira sired, hoping to snag himself a Shadowcaster that he could actually bend to his control. After Kira died, he had surrendered and accepted the fact that he would never have access to such power.

That's when they discovered Riku.

And Riku was a Shadowcaster.

Paine's chest tightened. If Riku hadn't been in serious trouble before, he definitely was now. Now that their uncle knew about his element…

"Well, I think it's about time I paid Riku a visit," their uncle reiterated. After a moment he cocked his head at Kadaj. "Unless…you were serious about bringing him to Whirlwind? I _am_ terriblybusy up there, and if I could trust my beloved nephews to collect Riku for me…" Their uncle started moving toward the doorway, watching them sharply.

"Of course, Uncle," Kadaj nodded.

"We won't fail you," Yazoo added coolly.

"See that you don't." Their uncle paused to size each of them up one last time, his amber glare lingering uncertainly on Paine. He seemed to get over whatever little doubt was smoldering in his thoughts, as he pulled his gaze away and turned, stepping through the doorway.

"You have three days," he tossed over his shoulder, "before I feel obligated to _step in."_

-o-o-o-

Okay, this place was seriously starting to gross Roxas out. The hut had obviously been constructed a long time ago, tucked away in the sandy corner of a coastal alcove, hidden from the cliffs above by their own crags and isolated below by the rolling surge of deep sea water. Inside it was bare and musty and dark; bundles of moss slunk up through the reedy flooring and drenched the close air with a hot, rancid stink. Roxas wrinkled his nose. "Axel, this thing is disgusting," he groused. "I think I'll need a shower just from standing here."

"Sorry," his fiery friend murmured, peering for the hundredth time through the ratty wooden shades of a square-cut window in one of the walls. "I had to pick a place where they couldn't possibly eavesdrop on us."

"…And a grody, decaying bungalow on the sweaty_ ass_ of the island was the first thing that came to mind? Axel, I can think of about twenty other places that would have worked."

"Shush," Axel hissed without looking at the blonde, gesturing absently for him to shut up.

Roxas gaped at him. "_Shush? _Don't you _shush _me, you troll-haired beanpole—"

"I said _shghshh!" _This time Axel flew across the hut and clapped a hand over Roxas' mouth. "Will you just _cool _it?" He grumbled. "She'll be here any minute, and then the smell will be the last thing on your mind."

Roxas shoved the redhead off of him. "Why are we meeting in person, anyway? Isn't it dangerous for her to be here with Kadaj and them snooping around?"

"It's dangerous for her to be _anywhere,"_ Axel countered almost tiredly. "Besides, we're running out of time. We need to think up a new game plan."

"New game plan?" Roxas crossed his arms huffily. "What, tossing my brother off the roof of our house so he and Riku would meet "naturally" wasn't good enough for you? Getting _run through _with a _sword _wasn't good enough for you? What's next? You want us all to hold hands and dive off a cliff together? Will _that _solve our problems?"

"Oh, hop off your menstrual cycle, already. This is serious." Axel started pacing back and forth in the small hut, rubbing his mouth nervously.

"It's only a matter of time before Xemnas catches wind of Riku's element, and when that happens…" He hesitated. "He'll pull out all the stops. We'll be screwed. …God, where _is_ she?"

Roxas' arms fell. "His element? What, you mean that freaky, shadowy thing he did back at the Fantasy Dome?"

"Yes. It's a long story…" Axel stole another look out the window. "Suffice it to say that Riku's special, and Xemnas will go out of his way to get what Riku has."

"And…I'm guessing that'd be bad? Which is why we've been busting our asses all week?"

"Exactamundo."

"So what now?"

"Now we wonder where in the blazing hell—"

Axel stopped talking when the lazily-hung tarp of a door was pushed open. A lithe woman, soft and pale and gently aged, swept cautiously into the hut. Upon spotting Axel and Roxas, a kindly smile drew across her face; she brushed a veil of dusty blonde hair out her electric eyes. She came to stand before them, folding her hands together pleasantly. "It's been a long time, Lea. I must say the phone calls do you no justice."

Axel's face fell into a relieved grin, and he pulled the woman into a companionable hug. "I know, I know. It's good to see you, Hama."

Hama chortled. "Oh, it's good to see you, too, dear." She pulled away and looked to Axel's side. "And you must be Roxas," she crooned, pulling the blonde into an equally warm hug. "I've heard a lot about you."

"That makes one of us," Roxas muttered, sliding Axel a look. Hama released him and stepped back, amused.

"Don't blame him," she said. "I ask Lea not to talk too much about me. I am meant to be dead, after all. Now," She ignored the confusion that rose on Roxas' face and switched her attention to Axel again, "where is my darling son?"

* * *

**A/N: Another (short) chapter down! *fistpump* Chapter 16 is on the way—and it's gonna be a fun one! Review for a chakram cookie~ Flame for a chakram to the face! **

**I love you all!**

_**Dif-tor heh smusma!**_

**-Slay**

**UPDATE: Heh...I had to fix a _tiny _error. Axel did not, in fact, "steal out the window" like some kind of spastic squirrel who just ruined your grandma's cherry pie. I have fixed it to say that he "stole another look out the window" which is what it was supposed to say. :D **

**Carry on.**


	16. Good Somethings

**Disclaimer: …I'm running out of creative ways to say I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, so this time around I'll just flat-out say it: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. *sniff* So there.**

**A/N: WHAT DO WE WANT?**

**FLUFF!**

**WHEN DO WE WANT IT? **

**TEN MINUTES AGO!  
Well, that's one balls of a deadline, but I'll do my best!**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 16

Good Somethings

-o-o-o-

It was on that Tuesday in June, a little after one 'o' clock, while leaning over the low guard wall on the roof of _Fencer's _and watching the "Sun Ray Parade" traipse elatedly below, when Riku decided that "awkward" was not _nearly _strong enough a word to describe the turn this day had taken. He wasn't sure his vocabulary extended far enough to describe it at all. It was…It was just so…_ugh. _He didn't even know what to say about the dressing room…incident. All he could do was stand quietly and sneak the occasional, surreptitious glance at Sora, who was—for once—equally speechless.

At least the sun wasn't bothering him.

The street beneath them was teeming with the same sweaty flocks of people that had been bustling to and fro all day, lining the road as bright, gaudy floats and troops of performers rolled through the thoroughfare, a great cloud of streamers and confetti and cool, watery mist dancing down the buildings, showering the crowds. Music billowed from live bands and massive speakers, thundering back and forth from storefront to storefront, from porch to porch, nearly drowning out the enthusiastic din of the onlookers in the street. After a few more facetious comments about the dressing room thing, Mr. Jenkins had offered to let them watch the parade from his store's roof, which was turning out to be a nice blessing, because Riku had had about as much raucous crowding as he could handle for the week.

There was a loud, thick _cracking _noise—Sora had flexed his back and proceeded to sigh like all of the pain had finally vanished. "Ahhh…_Well," _he drummed his hands on the guard wall for a pause. "I guess we're _really _good friends now, huh?"

Riku tried to laugh, but it just came out as a strained little squeaking noise in the back of his mouth.

"I feel like we should talk about this."

Squeak.

"'Cause I don't want things to stay this weird, y'know? And I'm sure you don't, either."

"Mm."

"Riku?"

"Mm?"

"Look at me."

Riku inclined his head just slightly to the side and strained to watch Sora from his peripheral. He saw the brunette shake his head. "No," he chastised, "not in my _general direction. _Look _at me, _Riku." Sora's hand came around to hold the side of Riku's face and forced their eyes to lock.

"Why'd you kiss me?"

Riku blanched. His blood ran cold all over again.

What was he even supposed to _say _to that? What answer could he _possibly _give? He hadn't _thought _about doing it. It hadn't been a conscious decision. It had just _happened; _but how was he supposed to explain that without sounding like an idiot? Or a creep? Or a crazy person? Or all of the above? A creepy, crazy idiot?

"I…I don't know…"

"You don't _know?"_

"_No." _He wrenched away from Sora's hand and leaned miserably on the wall, that stupid swarm of heat rising under his skin. "No," he repeated quietly. "I don't. I mean…" He huffed a sigh and glared dejectedly down at the parade. "I'm sorry."

He couldn't see the expression on Sora's face, and he was pretty sure he didn't want to. There was a terrifyingly long pause before a hand fell on his shoulder.

"I don't want you to be sorry, Riku," Sora said gently. "I just want to know what's going on in your head. It's not like you say a whole lot."

"Well…" Riku managed to crane his head around and slip Sora a small, vulnerable look. "No one's ever really cared what I had to say before," he admitted, drawing his attention back down to the parade. "I uh…I've never been very good at making friends…"

"Ri…" Sora stepped behind him and slid his arms around Riku's chest, burrowing his chin into the slouching boy's shoulder, giving him an affectionate squeeze. "You've really been through something, huh?"

_Pfft. _

"I guess you could say that…" Riku stayed put. The parade was tapering out below; the last few clusters of performers were being swallowed up by the crowds as they shifted down the street, filtering away to the festivities down the road. He felt one of Sora's thumbs stroking his side.

"That's okay, though," he heard Sora murmur. "'Cause you've got lots of friends now. You've got Axel, and Roxas…and Zex and Demyx…They're your friends. And you may not know 'em very well, but Kairi and Naminé, Hayner, Pence and Olette, they're all your friends, too. And you've got…and you've got…"

"I've got you."

He said it in the softest voice, his eyes fixed over the skyline, but Riku meant every little word. He brought his knuckles up to graze Sora's arm and leaned his head against the one resting on his shoulder.

"Yeah!" He could easily picture the brunette smiling, but after a second, a certain thought struck him.

Riku blurted, "The kissing thing is still a little awkward, though."

Sora paused and stepped away, pulling his arms back. When Riku turned to face him, he was standing with a hand touching his chin, eyes set and contemplating.

Dare he ask…? "Sora…?"

Blue eyes caught him thoughtfully. "I was just thinkin'…Maybe it'll be less awkward…if we do it more?"

"...Say what?"

Sora blushed mildly, "Well…_Y'know…"_ and moved closer, "Familiarity breeds contempt, or whatever?" He chuckled to himself. "Well, maybe not _contempt, _but…"

Riku took a step back, but his friend kept closing in. He had to stop when he felt his legs bump against something like pipes jutting from the guard wall. He wobbled unsteadily when the brunette continued to advance. "S-S-Sora!"

_"R-R-Rikuuu,"_ Sora mimicked, his smile taking a mischievous turn. His hands snuck their way along Riku's chest and Sora leaned up, his focus dropping to Riku's lips and his breath rolling like fire between them. "I really like you…" He sighed. "Riku…"

When Sora kissed him, it startled Riku enough that he flailed backward and tripped gracelessly over the pipes, toppling back onto the roof and bringing Sora—and Sora's lips—with him.

They wound up in a heap on the surface of the roof with Sora laughing happily against Riku's mouth; he straddled Riku's hips more comfortably and sat up a bit. "You okay?"

All Riku could do was stare stupidly up at him. "Ah…uh-huh…"

"Awesome!"

And just like that, Sora's lips were back, plucking at Riku's mouth and cheek and jaw, fishing for a reaction that wouldn't come because, well, this sort of thing didn't exactly _happen _to Riku every day.

"I could use a little input, man," Sora muttered, leaning back and raising a brow. When Riku didn't respond, a shred of uncertainty softened the brunette's features. "Or…don't you want…this?"

Seeming sorry and a little self-conscious, Sora started to move away, but Riku stopped him and pulled him back down against his chest. He shook his head. "No, it's just…I'm not used to this sort of thing. That's all."

Sora relaxed on top of him and started fussing with his hair, smiling lightly. "Well that's why we're here, dummy," he said playfully, bumping their noses together.

Riku breathed a laugh, the corners of his mouth flicking up. "You're something else."

"I am?"

"Oh, yeah."

Sora quirked his head to one side and tugged absently on Riku's hair. "Am I a _good _something?"

Smile widening, Riku latched his hands at the small of Sora's back and said, "Yes. In fact…you might be the best something that's ever happened to me."

This brought a beaming smile to Sora's face. He smoothed his fingers against Riku's scalp, something naughty and newly familiar creeping into the color of his eyes. "So…" Riku was suddenly very aware of the warmth falling from the closeness of Sora's lips. "Can we maybe…try that kiss one more time?"

"Hold the awkward?"

"Yes, please."

Riku was doing that thing again where he didn't really _think _about committing his actions—they just sort of happened. One of his hands found its way into Sora's unruly hair, the other locking securely around his waist. Before he could chicken out, he pulled Sora's head down and kissed him, instantly gratified by the small, surprised sound Sora made.

They quickly found their rhythm from before, kissing and twisting and pulling apart and clashing together again, but there was a new dimension to it; an edge. The world was melting wherever their bodies touched—and their bodies touched _everywhere—_and he could feel Sora lurching against him at the feeling, and it was really hard not to lurch back. His hands wandered and roved from the danger zone at Sora's waist back up to his hair, catching every muscle that jumped and rolled in his back as he moved, rubbing circles over his shoulders and guiding his head so their mouths could meet.

It was a blinding surge of bliss that washed through them, and Riku was too far gone to even wonder where all of this savvy was coming from. The heat was spreading and fogging up his head, and Riku didn't even hear the door to the roof click open.

"I can't leave you two _anywhere,_ can I?"

Oh, _COME ON._

They couldn't exactly _jump _apart, but the boys did flinch and separate—their lips, at least. Sora was still curled on top of Riku in a very inappropriate way, and they were too startled to do anything about it at the moment.

Mr. Jenkins simpered down at them from the doorway with his arms crossed. "I was just makin' sure you boys didn't get locked up here…But I guess that wouldn't have bothered ya too much, eh?"

"Heh…" Sora clamored off of Riku and sat back on his heels, hands fidgeting together awkwardly. Riku sat up and put all of his concentration into not face-palming at his own rotten luck. Seriously, did this guy just _wait around _until he could drop in on them at the _worst possible moment? _Dirty old man.

"Parade's over, y'know," Mr. Jenkins informed them, clearly still amused by their red-handed embarrassment. "You two should go visit the fair before it gets much later."

"What a great idea, Mr. J!"

Riku was already on his feet; he extended his hands to help Sora up, and together they slipped past Mr. Pervert—er, Jenkins, and took the staircase down through the building, retreating through the back storage room and hitting Market Street as the crowds were clearing up.

-o-o-o-

"…I think he's doing it on purpose."

There was a muted slurping noise as Sora hastened to finish the ice cream off his spoon so he could ask, "Who?"

"That old Jenkins guy," Riku clarified, hashing up his own ice cream moodily.

Sora smiled at him. "You're just miffed 'cause we keep getting _interrupted," _he said coyly.

Riku flushed in spite of himself. "Eat your damn ice cream."

While Sora chuckled at him, Riku took a moment to put some words together in his head. He'd been seriously considering taking a drastic step with Sora, and it was starting to feel like a "now or never" situation. If he didn't seize what little confidence he'd acquired over the past few days, he might never have the guts to come clean—to truly make that one, last mistake that could easily define the rest of his life.

"Sora," he croaked, nudging himself in what he really hoped was the right direction.

"Hm?"

"Um…" He could definitely feel it now; the tottering nervousness of facing a fight or flight decision. He muscled past it, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to say, "Could I…show you something later? It's kind of important."

"Of course." Sora's grin faded a bit as he eyed the uneasy look on Riku's face. "Is everything okay? You can show me now, if you want."

"No, it's fine. It can wait until after all…" he gestured a little awkwardly at the festivities filling the Common around them, "this…is over. Really. Don't worry about it."

"…Okay." The brunette's demeanor lightened. "You can show me before we head out to the Charge to Sunrise," he suggested brightly, popping in another spoonful of paopu sherbet, which was quickly becoming the ideal bonding food for them.

"That's tonight?"

"Yep. It's gonna be great! You break up into teams and camp out on this small island on the west side, and in the morning, you get up really early and race to the other side of the island. First team to beat the sunrise wins!"

Riku shoveled in some ice cream and gave Sora an odd look. "What's the point of that?"

"Other than having fun?" A small laugh, then Sora sobered up a little bit, tapping his spoon on the rim of his ice cream cup. "It's all symbolic, I guess," he said more seriously, staring thoughtfully into the crowds as they waded through, neither of them particularly focused on their ice cream anymore. "I mean, the whole point of the festival is to be thankful for the sun, and life, and all that stuff…And the Charge is kinda like a reminder that...no matter how dark the night gets…" he said the last part significantly, his lucid blue eyes passing back over to Riku. "The sun will always rise."

Feeling pressured, Riku averted his own gaze to the forgotten ice cream he was holding. A hand on his chest stopped him walking, then came up to grip his chin. Sora pulled his face down so their eyes met. "_Always."_

Completely floored, Riku could only stare with his mouth cracked open. He wondered if he'd ever get used to the way Sora saw through him like that. Probably not.

Sora grabbed his arm and pecked him on the cheek, effectively snapping him out of it. "C'mon, let's hit the midway."

-o-o-o-

"Gaaaaaah…I give up!" Sora rolled his head back in devastation and dropped the pellet gun on the table. "These games are rigged."

"Stop your whining," Riku smirked, taking out their moving target for the fifth time in a row. "You already kicked my butt at those dumb videogames the other day."

"Yeah, well, that was more fun." Sora pouted. "Let's do something else."

Riku gave his friend a sideways glance. "Nah, c'mon, you big quitter—one more try."

"Nuh-uh," Sora shook his head childishly. "This isn't fun anymore."

"One more round," Riku insisted, "then we can go do whatever you want." He leaned on the table and added under his breath, "I'll even tell you the secret to winning."

Sora crossed his arms and pouted for a second, then reluctantly looked up from under his lashes. "No bluffing?"

"No bluffing. You'll make the very next shot you take."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

There was one last hesitant pause before Sora tossed some more munny at the vendor and picked his gun back up, staring at it ruefully. Riku left the other gun be and came up behind Sora, reaching around and steadying the smaller boys' grip. Sora relaxed against him, and Riku couldn't help but smile a bit to himself. "Okay," he started as the target began its waving path back and forth across the backdrop. "For one, you have to keep both your eyes open. You need your depth perception to aim well."

"Both eyes open. Got it."

"And it's a moving target, so when you aim, you have to account for timing. Don't aim for where the target _is; _aim for where the target's _gonna be."_

Sora nodded resolutely, and Riku had to move his face so his friend's flamboyant hair didn't tickle him. He spoke down into Sora's ear instead. "Next, control your breathing. It keeps you steady. Breathe in while you aim…" They carefully chased the target for a second; Riku felt Sora's chest swell a slow, steady breath.

"Hold it…Focus…and…" He inched Sora's finger onto the trigger, and once the gun's sight was perfectly positioned, he breathed, "_Fire."_

There was a sharp, metal _clang _as the gun's pellet bulls-eyed into the target, knocking it clean over and sounding the game's victory ring. The gun fell forgotten on the table when Sora yelped and whirled around, throwing himself onto Riku in a burst of joy.

"Did you see that, Ri? I hit it! I hit it on the first try!"

Riku laughed and hugged the brunette, spinning him around once before setting him down. "I told ya, dummy."

Sora giggled and leaned over the table, sizing up the prizes crowded around the stand. They were all brightly-colored stuffed animals, that Riku personally never would have gone for, but far be it from Sora to pass up anything brightly-colored. He settled on a light-blue, bean-shaped kitten-dog thing and named it Willy, which he subsequently shoved in Riku's face as they were walking away from the game.

"Say _hi _to Willy, Riku! I think he likes youuu!"

"Sora, get that out of my face before I—agh!"

"Willy wants kisses!"

"Well I _don't!"_

"The less you _want _it the more you _need _it!"

"SORA!"

"Where'd you learn to shoot like that, anyway?" Sora asked, finally pulling the plushy out of Riku's face and cuddling it to his chest.

"My dad used to take me hunting," Riku lied smoothly. It wasn't _completely _untrue—he really had been hunting. Just not with his dad. …and not for fun.

"Really? I never liked the idea of hunting." Sora drew swirls in the fake fur of the stuffed animal.

"Yeah, well…" Riku had to bite back the bitterness that edged his memories. "Neither did I."

"…At least you got to spend time with your dad, right?"

"Eh."

"Roxas and I never really got to meet our dad. We were really little when he died," Sora admitted mildly.

"Sora…"

A certain silence slid between them—not necessarily uncomfortable, but it wasn't what Riku would call nice and companionable, either. Until then he hadn't even stopped to imagine that Sora might have his own unpleasant keepsakes. It poked a small hole in the self-perpetuating orb of light he'd always pictured Sora's life to be, and somehow, it made him more appealing. More relatable. He suddenly felt a bit more confident about revealing his secret. Just a bit.

Riku wanted to say something, but a familiar pair of arguing voices broke the silence for them.

"…all the shit that's going on right now, and we're in line for carnie food!What the _hell _is wrong with you—_I don't want any fucking ice cream, _you idiot! We should be looking for them! We should be—"

"Roxas! Axel! Over here!" Sora tucked the Willy stuffy under his arm and waved across the street, where the old married couple in question was bickering by an ice cream stand. Roxas stopped flailing in Axel's face and turned to see them. Relief poured over him like they had been missing for a month. "Hey!" He returned Sora's wave as he crossed the thoroughfare with Axel in tow. "Cloud said you guys might be here. How's your back?"

"Fine! It doesn't hurt anymore," Sora bubbled, producing Willy again and holding it out for the other two to see. "Look what Riku helped me get!"

Roxas smiled at the colorful stuffy and then at his enthusiastic brother. "Looks like you guys have been having a pretty good day, huh?"

"Yeah!"

"Nice new threads, by the way," Axel contributed, slinging an arm over Roxas' shoulders and passing Riku an appraising grin. "I never thought a _creature of the night _could wear something so colorful." His tone was light and joking, and the twins readily laughed, but Riku couldn't ignore the sliver of something darker lurking between his words. He gave Axel a hard, suspicious look, and to his surprise, earned a sleazy wink in return.

Oh, _really?_

If there was any doubt in his mind that Axel knew about him, it was completely gone, now. He knew, and he was dangling the fact that he knew in Riku's face, trying to startle him. Well, it wasn't going to work. Riku had already accepted that there might be something going on around here that was a lot bigger than he was, and Axel had been at the top of his "suspect list" from day one. This _really _didn't come as a surprise.

Riku crossed his arms casually. "You're awfully chipper for someone who got _run through_ less than twenty-four hours ago," he deadpanned.

Roxas looked startled at the comment, but Axel didn't even flinch. "Yeah…" He drawled. "I guess I'm just a medical miracle."

"Like magic?"

"I guess you could say that."

"You must have some pretty monstrousscars."

Axel shook his head and patted his stomach. "Smooth and sexy as ever. Modern medicine is amazing. You wouldn't believe the kind of stuff they can pull off."

"Oh, I think I would."

"Seen things, huh?"

By now both of the twins were thoroughly confused—though Roxas seemed a bit more troubled than anything. Riku was aware of this, but he couldn't let up until he got some sort of reaction out of Axel. Just something small to confirm his suspicions. "Yeah…" He stalled for half a moment, then something turned up from the back of his mind. He'd have to explain it away later, but he had a hunch it would work. "I guess you could say I used to _run with a bad crowd," _he said a little transparently. Sora gripped his arm, but he focused on Axel, waiting for the slightest hint of consequence.

And there it was; the humor fell from his face and his eyes steeled over. Something very grim had congealed there—some predatory shadow that didn't belong in human eyes. Roxas got a look on his face like Axel's arm had suddenly become some venomous snake around his neck, though it rested dead and still.

"But that's a story for another day, right?"

Axel loosened up a bit. "I'm starting to get the distinct impression we need to have a talk."

"You think?"

"Yeah." Axel pulled his arm back and slid his hands into his pockets, leaning where he stood to reestablish some veil of his usual composure. "We'll have to do something about that. …After the fair is over, of course. I promised Roxy here I'd let him drop me in the dunk tank, and sea salt ice cream…y'know, the usual."

"What? We weren't gonna do either of those things—"

"Plus, you guys were obviously in the middle of something…"

"Not…really…" Sora supplied warily, increasingly interested in the surreptitious exchange. "What's this all about?"

There was a very drawn-out pause between the four of them, and Roxas finally broke it by murmuring, "Maybe we should just _tell _them…"

"Tell us what?"

Axel looked cornered. "Well…uh…" His face fell, like he was extremely sorry for what he was about to say. "Okay," he sighed. "We…wanted to wait for the right time, but…I guess there's no other option now…" He and Roxas exchanged solemn looks, which lead to Sora and Riku trading their own concerned glances.

"Guys…" Axel said heavily, and Riku got the chill down his spine that usually precluded some very serious information. He could see himself standing on the edge of this conspiracy like a dark chasm, finally being led into its secretive depths. Finally he'd understand why Axel and Roxas (and Demyx and Zexion, apparently) had been acting so oddly around him. Why Kadaj and his crew were going out of their way to cause him trouble. Finally…he'd be in on his own secret.

"Roxas is pregnant."

"…What?"

"WHAT?!" Roxas had gone so red that his blue eyes turned stark against his skin; he gaped up at Axel in deranged horror.

Axel didn't return the eye contact. Instead he made a sort of _c'est la vie _motion with his hand and sighed again. "Shocking, I know. I'm afraid we haven't been very careful in bed lately, and now we're paying the price—"

"_EXCUSE ME?"_

"We're eloping to Radiant Garden this weekend so the child will be legitimate—"

"_WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"_

"Now, as you can see, Mommy is getting very upset—hormones, y'know—I'd better get her home, get some chocolate in her, maybe even massage her feet…"

"_AXEL!"_

"I know, honey. I know." With that, Axel snatched Roxas off his feet and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of really embarrassed potatoes. While Roxas flailed and fumed, spewing an impressive string of barely-intelligible profanities, Axel started carrying him off through the crowd, throwing a wave back at the other two. "Catch you guys later!"

And then they were gone, leaving Sora and Riku to stand with their mouths hanging open like fish for a full minute.

"…That's not completely suspicious…" Riku muttered.

"Or weird," Sora added.

"Yeah…"

"Hey, Riku?"

"Huh?"

They had subconsciously started walking again, and Sora was holding to Willy as a source of comfort. "What did you mean by…_bad crowd?"_

"Oh…" Riku didn't want to say that he'd flat out lied about something so serious. "I'll explain later," he said. "Y'know, when I show you that thing I have to show you."

"Okay."

A few quiet minutes passed as they flowed through the crowds. Sora's grip had never strayed from Riku's arm, and as they walked, it drifted down until their hands were bound together, swaying idly between them.

"I wonder what Roxas really meant," Sora mused after a while. "When he said they should just tell us."

"Yeah." Riku glanced over his shoulder, half expecting to see Axel and Roxas still bickering somewhere in the background. Naturally, he saw nothing, and turned back around. "Me too."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, that's kind of a weird place to leave off, but this puppy was getting long and I was getting tired of writing it. **

**Stick around for chapter 17 where we hop off Slay's Silly Trolly and get back to the point of the story!**

**Review for a chakram cookie~ **

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**Until next time, my sweets!**

**-Slay**


	17. Shady Business

**Disclaimer: For the seventeenth time, I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy or anything even remotely similar to the two. *sniff***

**A/N: FFFFFFFFFF PLOTHOLES. It's like the roof of my story is leaking profusely and all I have is a dinky little bucket. Now sit back and watch in amusement as I try to patch this bitch up with duct tape. …Wait, wait, no. No, NO! THIS IS ELECTRICAL TAPE! THIS DOESN'T STICK TO ANYTHING. NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 17

Shady Business

-o-o-o-

Leon was currently leering down his nose at the sandy-haired teenager who had rushed up to him with 'important news'—which came spilling out in a breathless, incoherent jumble as the boy tried to catch his wind. Leon might have been more concerned if this particular boy hadn't been a complete spaz to begin with. "I couldn't understand any of that, Tidus," he sighed, crossing his arms expectantly.

After gulping down a few more breaths, Tidus huffed, "I _said _I was down by the gorge at the edge of town, and—"

Leon's brows flinched dangerously. "You were out past the postern?"

Tidus froze, flushed that he had just ratted himself out. He gave the man a weak and helpless smile. "Uh…But, er, don't ya wanna know what I saw, Mr. Leonheart? I thought I should tell you 'cause it seemed pretty sketchy…"

"Sure," Leon nodded sagely. "That will give me time to think up a fitting punishment for you." When Tidus gave him a slack-jawed glare, Leon rolled his eyes. "That area is roped off for a _reason, _Tidus. Those barrens are very dangerous."

"I wasn't the only one out there," Tidus said bitterly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "That's what I was gonna tell you. I saw these three guys in black—they looked like they were heading for that old castle on the other side of the gorge."

"Guys in black?" That _was_ important news. There had been scattered reports of mysterious persons skulking all over the island for weeks, and Leon wasn't the only one who thought they might be connected to the disaster at the Fantasy Dome the day before. Even if they were, though, what could they possibly want with that abandoned castle?

"Alright," Leon nodded. "Thanks for telling me."

Tidus stood and shuffled his feet, his eyes straying off to one side and latching onto something that seemed to interest him greatly. "So…uh…Am I still in hot water, or…?"

Leon turned and saw without even a shred of surprise that the boy was eyeing a nearby food cart like a starving prisoner of war. He shook his head and motioned the kid away. "Oh, just _go. _I have bigger things to worry about."

Without hesitation, Tidus shot off for the food cart, leaving Leon to contemplate his next move. He definitely had to check out that castle. He might finally figure out all of the strange activity that had been hanging over the islands like a low and misty cloud—people were disappearing, the gruesome remains of slain wildlife were being found in broken patterns through surrounding forests, and anonymous calls were spilling in from people who claimed to have seen something extraordinary and terrifying, had heard bone-chilling noises in the night, seen strange lights in the darkness, and were convinced they were going insane; but Leon knew they weren't. He had a horrible, sinking feeling that he knew exactly what was out there—a suspicion he shared with Cloud, who had collected his fair share of strange happenings on the northern peak of the island.

He wondered if he shouldn't call Cloud in on this. He would certainly want to know, if not be directly involved.

Then again, Leon couldn't be sure how long this window would be open, and the situation was too serious to waste any time. Cloud would understand that.

In the end, he decided to let Cloud know what was going on before scouting the castle out alone.

"Cloud, it's Squall," he told his friend's voicemail, knowing that he'd get the relay soon enough. "I've got a lead. Some strange men dressed in black were seen heading for the Hollow Bastion castle. I'm going to take a look. I'll let you know what I find."

_Click._

-o-o-o-

"So, my brothers, how are we going to do this?"

Kadaj led the way across the spidery, decaying bridge hoisted over a deep chasm surrounding the castle ruins, his usual charisma restored now that their uncle was out of the picture once more. "The solstice is in four days, and we must deliver Riku to Whirlwind in less than three."

"And he doesn't seem too keen on coming with us," Yazoo added with a sneer. "We may need to do this the old-fashioned way. Riku may be a Shadowcaster, but he is young, and obviously inexperienced."

"Yes." Kadaj raised a palm and glowered into it as a gleaming orb of translucent green energy swelled in his grasp, humming softly where he held it. "Even with our _lackluster _elements, we should be able to overpower him. We'll capture him and carry him off to Whirlwind…Then Uncle will finally be pleased with us. He might even let us stay."

"That is, if Loz can keep himself under control long enough for us to succeed," Yazoo spat, glaring sharply at the third member of the group, who was treading lethargically behind them and boring into the back of his right hand. "What's wrong with your hand?"

"It won't heal," Loz grumbled, running his fingers back and forth over the razed skin behind his knuckles. "That punk sliced it open yesterday and it _won't heal."_

"Don't cry, Loz."

"I'm not—"

"_Wait." _Kadaj had stepped between them and was now staring down at Loz's injured hand uneasily. "It hasn't healed at all?"

"It closed up, but that's it…Just a scar now."

Lunumbra didn't _scar. _Not from miniscule wounds like _that. _Their bodies were much too durable, much too efficient at healing nearly any kind of damage. _Except... _Kadaj gripped the hilt of the sword hinged at his side, his fingers fanning over the handle nervously. The fact that the brat from the venue had done such permanent damage to a Lunumbra, and with _his _sword, no less…That could only mean…

Yazoo drawled, "I know what you're thinking. We have a _Warrior _on our hands, don't we, brother?"

It would certainly explain why Loz's attack hadn't killed him instantly. No normal human could have taken a hit like that and limped away from it.

"I knew that boy was trouble," Yazoo continued. "It's no wonder Riku wants nothing to do with us—he's been fraternizing with the enemy this entire time."

The three of them stepped off of the bridge and passed under the first arcing protrusions of the castle. This place had proved to be an excellent hideout when the Forgotten Capital was too far away to conduct business on the island, as the lifeless blue barrens surrounding it kept nosy islanders at bay. Not that a few stragglers were really any threat to them; after all, Lunumbra had to eat too.

"If we're going to get to Riku, we'll have to take care of that boy first," Yazoo was saying maliciously. "He's a major distraction _and _a threat."

"That shouldn't be too difficult." Kadaj was suddenly remembering that sudden turn of events back in the venue, when the brat in question had warded off one of his attacks with mere…_janitorial equipment. _Of all the ridiculous things…Then again… "I suspect that our little Warrior friend isn't very experienced, himself. Otherwise, he would have used his own weapon."

"Then our job just got easier."

Kadaj grimaced. "Not exactly. That traitor is still breathing. He'll happily louse up whatever plans we have."

"Lea has been incapacitated," Yazoo encouraged. "Even _he _isn't stupid enough to force healing with so many humans around."

"Perhaps." That was a rather comforting thought. With an injury so aesthetically severe, Lea wouldn't be able to escape the hospital for at least a few more days—not without risking a lot of unwanted attention. That settled it then. "We'll have to move quickly. There's a festival going on in Twilight Town today. I expect Little Brother and his friend will be there. Once we find them, Yazoo and I will _persuade _Riku to join us, and _Loz," _he said heavily, angling a sharp look at Loz. "_You _will be responsible for disposing of that boy._ Discreetly._ You can handle that, can't you?"

"'_Course _I can!" Loz grunted, offended that his abilities had been dragged into question. "That little punk got _lucky _yesterday. That's not gonna happen again."

"_Good." _There was a dark and dubious note to the way Kadaj had spoken. Loz had been incredibly hard to control as of late. He'd been letting his emotions boil over, constantly shifting forms at the worst possible times, throwing their operations off balance. Hopefully he would be able to manage this single task—he didn't even necessarily have to _kill _the boy (though it _was _preferred); he simply had to keep him out of the way long enough for them to detain Riku.

Simple as that.

-o-o-o-

_Oh, no._

It wasn't that Leon had been expecting particularly good news, but what he overheard in the ruins of the castle was worse than he would have thought. He shrank back behind the pillar he'd been using as cover and listened to the retreating footsteps on the other side.

The fact that those three were after Riku didn't really surprise him—Cloud had orchestrated a very thorough theory as to why Lunumbra were showing their faces this far south, and Riku was an integral part of it.

But this Warrior they kept referencing…one whom Riku had befriended…there was only one person it could possibly be.

_Sora._

He had to warn Cloud.

"Oh, _my..._Looks like someone's gotten _lost, _Kadaj."

Leon jumped and turned to find one of the Lunumbra leaning around the pillar, feral green eyes smiling criminally through a sheet of fine, argent hair. Leon's hand shot instinctively for the holster harboring his gunblade, but there was already a broad shooter barrel trained right in his face. On the other end, the man's smile tightened wickedly. "_Hm." _

The man fired, and Leon barely managed to dodge it—he felt the heat of the bullet scream past his ear as he hit the ground and rolled right back onto his feet, gunblade drawn.

One shot cleared the shooter from the Lunumbra's hand; upon losing his first weapon, the man swiftly produced a second and sent two rounds shredding into Leon's wielding arm. He staggered and clutched at the bullet holes, cursing himself. Now was _not _the time to fall victim. He grit his teeth against the pain and swung his gunblade around, batting the second shooter out of the Lunumbra's grip. Leon opened fire, but the man was fast—he vanished and another took his place, wheeling around the pillar with a snarl and an ethereal ball of light in his hand, "Why do I get the feeling we _don't _want you alive?"

It was then that Leon felt it—a terrible, serrated heat carving into his chest, burning through flesh and bone and flaring in an unbearable crescendo. He fell back with a cry, and was alarmed to find his first attacker looming overhead, now with both shooters aimed directly down at him. "_Hm."_

Leon saw the man's fingers haul back on the triggers, felt one of the bullets drive into his chest, dangerously close to his heart—but the report never came; all sounds of gunfire and cruel laughter were drowned out by a great rumbling, like the roar of an engine…

Some black, massive thing flashed over him, tearing the Lunumbra out of sight. Leon heaved himself up, but the white-hot pain in his chest stopped him short. He rolled over, but his fading vision could only make out smeared shapes of black and white and glancing silver—the roaring continued, punctuated by fighting yells and injured cries. It swiveled around, trailing far and near before choking off completely. By the time the air was quiet again, Leon could barely see past the blinding sear in his chest. He saw a shock of yellow, a glimpse of radioactive blue, a hand on his shoulder…

And then there was nothing but darkness, seeping in and overrunning his mind.

-o-o-o-

Roxas was throwing a capital fit.

It was actually pretty impressive; Axel couldn't recall a single moment in living memory when he had seen the blonde so angry—and he'd seen Roxas angry _a lot, _especially in the past few days. All he could do was stand there and let Roxas rip him a new one, stunned and proud of the remarkable fluency with which his friend was swearing up a storm.

After hoisting the boy over his shoulder, Axel had managed to make it about two blocks before Roxas drove a vicious kick into his stomach and got free, hauling him (by his hair—_ow_) into the music store where Demyx worked. Patron-wise, the store was bone dry, thanks to the parade up the road, and thus was as good a place as any to administer a brutal tongue-lashing. When they first came in, Demyx spotted them and made to come say 'hi', but scampered off as soon as he saw the purified rage pouring off of Roxas.

Roxas laid into him first about the "pregnant" thing he'd pulled as a distraction, fuming about the sheer inappropriateness and blinding mortification of it with his face glowing so red that he could have been used to mark tall buildings for aircraft.

After getting that out of his system, Roxas segwayed into a much more thorough rant about blowing off such a major discussion that needed to be had with Riku and Sora. This went on for several minutes and finally tapered off, not because Roxas was losing steam, but because his fury had become gridlocked and he couldn't decide what to bitch about next.

"I don't get it," he huffed, taking a brief pause to settle on his next words. "I mean, _you're _the one who said we're running out of time, weren't you? And now it's like you don't even care. What gives? You were totally flipping your shit this morning."

Axel shrugged. "That's because I didn't know we were so _close _this morning."

"Close to what?"

"To his curse breaking.

It looked like the thought unsettled Roxas a bit. "What makes you say that?"

"You saw him out there," Axel pressed. "Running around in broad daylight like it was _nothing. _And the new clothes, the improved attitude—I'm telling you, it's just around the corner. If Riku can break free before Xemnas gets a hold of him, we'll be in the clear!"

As Axel spoke, Roxas failed to join in on his enthusiasm. He crossed his arms and tucked his hands under, looking up at Axel warily. "You're putting an awful lot of faith in something you can't control," he muttered. "I mean, maybe he _has _made good progress, but…what if it takes too long?"

Instead of getting frustrated that Roxas wasn't seeing his way, Axel smiled genially. "It didn't take _me _too long." He brought a hand up to rustle through the blonde's hair. "My curse broke the very same day I met you. After that night, I never changed again."

Roxas was going red again, but the anger had seeped out of him. His cheeks continued to burn and he looked away. "So it's different for everyone."

"Yes; because it's all in our heads. …Everyone has something they're afraid of, right? Something that scares them and fills them up with hate or sadness." Axel braced his hands on Roxas' shoulders. "All of the terrible feelings we're capable of are what make up the darkness that binds us to the curse. And if we can just learn to see through that…well, _bam. _Chain's broken and we get to move on with our lives."

Roxas' eyes slid back up to Axel's face. "What do you think he's afraid of?"

Axel shrugged, moving his hands into his pockets. "Can't really say—but I _can _say that whatever Riku's been running from all this time, Sora seems to be doing a pretty good job of helping him get over it."

There was a long and languid pause between them. Roxas shifted where he stood, averting his eyes again. When he spoke, his voice was very soft, practically hiding in his breath. "…What were you afraid of?"

Not even a decade ago, Axel might have made a juvenile quip about his immunity to fear (and all other shows of weakness, naturally), back before he first felt the incisive, no-bullshit clarity of those stark blue eyes and realized how much he liked it; but now he didn't even hesitate before snatching Roxas' chin and smiling down into those brilliant eyes with a fondness reserved especially for them. He leaned in close so the gentle murmur of his voice could be heard.

"I was afraid of being forgotten."

_A young voice sounded through the trees; he saw the boy on the edge of the wood, calling with a hand cupped around his mouth and the other waving goodbye. "Thanks for everything, Lea!" he shouted. "I won't forget you!"_

_ I won't forget you!_

"…Somehow, I knew you meant it," Axel said suddenly, as if the memory had been played out for them both. "So I burned a few bridges and went looking for you, and…well, here we—_are!" _The sentence ended shakily as Roxas slammed into him, latching his arms securely around Axel's chest and burying the extreme warmth in his cheeks.

Once he regained his balance, Axel chortled quietly and snaked his arms around the boy's shoulders, nuzzling into the top of his head. Roxas grumbled something muffled into his shirt. He chuckled again and pushed the blonde back a little. "What?"

"How could anybody forget an oaf like _you?_"Roxas repeated himself with a bit of bitterness, but Axel knew him well enough to hear the stifled honesty in his words. "_Well," _he simpered, catching Roxas' eye when he peaked up from his little hiding place against the redhead's chest, "I _am _pretty awesome."

Roxas gave him a shove, but it was a playful one, and a small smile was creeping up through the blonde's features despite his efforts to stay mad. "What you are is _full of yourself."_

"Nah, you like it."

"I do not."

One tickle fight and a sincere apology to Demyx later, Axel and Roxas were back out in the summer heat, swerving through the festival crowds as Axel worked to shrug off his friend's sense of urgency.

"It's only fair to warn them, Axel," the blonde beseeched, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"They only have to make it three more days." Axel gave a lazy motion to dismiss Roxas' concerns. "And as long as we have their backs, everything will be fine." He glanced around once before adding in a low voice, "Besides, Hama's here now. And she's a lot tougher than she looks."

"Speaking of Hama, I've been wondering…" Roxas kept his voice equally quiet, just in case. "If she's been tracking Riku all this time…Why didn't she ever…I dunno, step in? I mean, if she really is his mom, why'd she leave him on his own?"

That was when a sort of shadow fell over Axel's face, one that told Roxas he'd just touched a topic they would _not _be diving into very deeply. "Let's just say Riku's not the only one in that family who's complicated."

And they left it at that.

**A/N: So, in sum: shit is going down all over the place! HOORAY!**

**Stay tuned for chapter…what're we on? 18? Holy hell this story is getting long. XD**

**Review for a chakram cookie~ Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**Toodles~**

**-Slay**


	18. Recollections

**Disclaimer: …I think you guys get the picture.**

**A/N: Okay, so it's been like a billion years again, and I'm really super sorry about that. I'm not dead, Life just did that stupid thing where it gets in the way and messes my shit up. BUT. That doesn't change the fact that you guys are completely awesome, so…ONWARD.**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 18

Recollections

-o-o-o-

"Wow. You must be really hungry."

It wasn't until Sora said something that Riku realized he was eating twice his weight in carnival food. "Owh, yawh," he garbled through the remaining half of his fourth or fifth hotdog. He swallowed what he was chewing with an audible gulp. "I, uh…skipped breakfast."

"You don't say." Sora smiled and leaned across the table to smooth some condiments from Riku's mouth. "Think you'll be up for a few more games after this?"

"Sure." Riku continued to shamelessly pile generous slews of food into his mouth and Sora continued to laugh at the sight, but Riku wasn't bothered by it. If he was going to risk showing Sora his other form, he wanted to make sure all of his bases were covered. The monster would have no say in what happened that night, and if Sora was going to be driven away, it wasn't going to be because Riku attacked him out of hunger. Not a chance. This time, _he _would be in control. And this time…it just might work.

Riku had found, to his surprise and delight, that his confidence levels had been steadily rising as the afternoon pressed on into a late, sunny hour. For once, his thoughts weren't all anchored to his desperation to beat nightfall. He wouldn't want to be caught transforming anywhere public of course, but at the same time, he simply couldn't bring himself to feel paranoid in the slightest.

When the sun finally began to hang low and red, he and Sora would peel off from the crowds and cut through the woods, back to that dusty old mansion hidden quietly among the trees. Sora would ask why they were straying into such a creepy, deserted place, and Riku would tell him they needed somewhere private, and not to worry because there was no force in heaven or hell that would lead Riku to betray him.

He could picture Sora smiling at that; following him down the crepuscular forest path and probably rambling about something or other as daylight receded from their footsteps. He could see Sora standing in the fading spray of sun through the window, waiting, wondering, possibly worrying about what he was going to see. Then it would happen—the moment of truth would be upon them and, well…Riku couldn't really push his imagination past that.

So he pushed some more food into his mouth instead while Sora prattled on about their plans for the rest of the day. It wasn't until Riku had finally finished eating half the food in Twilight Town and they were marching back out to the midway that Sora said something odd.

"Riku, are you a wizard?"

When he was done choking on his own spit, Riku gave his friend a startled look. "What? No…Why would you ask…?"

Unbothered by Riku's suspiciously startled reaction, Sora just threw his hands behind his head and continued, "Well…it just came to me; I saw something weird at the concert yesterday—other than the dragon, I mean."

A lump settled in Riku's throat. "O-Oh?"

"Yeah. After I got hit, and you came to help me. But I'm not sure if it actually _happened, _or if I was just seeing things. I was pretty out of it. And now that I think about it, I guess it _was _pretty far-fetched…"

The lump calcified and plummeted into Riku's stomach. He swallowed past the rising panic in his throat. "What did you see?"

"Well…" Sora took a moment to sort out his thoughts while Riku's heart tapped out a painful rhythm in his chest. What had Sora seen? How much had it given away? Did it matter? Sora already seemed to think it was just his shaken imagination. Maybe Riku could help him play it off as nothing…

"Okay," Sora said resolutely. "I remember getting hit—then I blacked out for a second…and my head really hurt…and then _you _were there, and you said something to me, and then it got weird." His eyes darted around as they passed into the midway, as though he were summarizing a story played out on the walls of the buildings above. "It got…cold," he said thoughtfully. "I mean, I know I was in and out of consciousness and stuff, but…it seriously got _cold _around us. Like the temperature just _plummeted _all of a sudden. …And it got dark, and I thought I was just, y'know, passing out again, but…I could still see you." He glanced at Riku, who was too busy masking his impending freak-out to offer any kind of response.

Sora didn't seem to think too much of this, and went back to observing the street around them as he spoke. "I could see your face, like the darkness wasn't touching you. And then…out of nowhere, everything just…_exploded."_

"Exploded?"

"Yeah! Like a…like a blast of wind! It was intense. I really did pass out that time, and when I came around again, everything was okay." He paused. "I _was _covered in _blood, _but…y'know."

Riku gulped. _He saw that? _"Wow," he grasped at straws, trying not to sound like he'd been found out. "That really is weird, Sora."

"_Right?" _Sora reached out and pulled Riku to a halt. "But you wanna know what was weirder still?" He leaned in close and bore into Riku's eyes with an intensity that made him extremely nervous. He couldn't even vocalize a reply.

"In the middle of it all," Sora said quietly, intently. "I saw your face, and your eyes…" Riku found himself blinking more than usual as Sora scrutinized him, as if he expected the strange thing he'd seen yesterday to appear again. "They were…different."

"Different? …Different how?"

"They looked… Have you ever seen a cat's eyes? With the slits that are really creepy but kinda cool?"

Now it was nearly impossible to suppress the dread expanding in his chest. He'd…changed? Part of him had actually _changed? And Sora had seen it happen? _What the hell was he supposed to do? He did his best to act casual, but it was an uphill march. "You thought my eyes…looked like a cat's?"

"I know it's stupid." Sora sighed and turned away from him, continuing down the midway. "I must've hit my head pretty hard, huh?"

While it hurt to see Sora being so down on himself, Riku couldn't let him think something was up. "It's not your fault, Sora," he said soothingly, catching up with his friend and rubbing a hand over his back. "You were hurt pretty bad."

"Yeah…" Sora gave a soft laugh. "I mean, c'mon, you'd have to be some kind of…_magical shape-shifter!" _Sora was greatly amused by the thought, and didn't notice Riku blanching like a man on Death Row next to him.

Riku forced a squeaky laugh. "Yeah. Heh. Magical."

"…Unless…"

The serious note that had crept into Sora's tone gave Riku a start. He was giving him that inspective look again.

"Riku…"

"…Yes?"

"…_Are _you a magical shape-shifter?"

Riku was choking on his own spit again. "Wh-What?"

Sora started jumping up and down. "Ooh-ooh—let me guess what kind of animal you change into!"

"WHAT?"

"Okay, okay, ummm…" Sora rubbed his chin and looked Riku up and down, thinking deeply. "Oh! Can you turn into a cat? 'cause the eyes?" He pointed to his own eyes hopefully.

"What? Sora, I can't turn into a freaking—"

"How about a dog with cat _eyes? _Ooh, you'd look just like Willy! That'd be so cute!"

"You mean that weird stuffed thing you won at the shooting game?"

Despite Riku's deadpanning, Sora continued to bowl forward, throwing out a bunch of animals at random.

"A bird? A fish? A monkey? Oh, how about a _dolphin? _That'd be so cool—we could go swimming, and I could hang onto your dorsal fin and we could go jumping in the waves with other dolphins…"

Riku's head was spinning, and he was amazed that Sora had managed to compile such a long list without even coming _close. _Somewhere down the line he threw out the word "lizard", giving Riku a heart palpitation, but he didn't stay on the topic for long, and Riku decided he was still safe. Sora was just entertaining himself now. Riku pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, Riku?"

"…Yes, Sora?"

"I think I figured out what you are."

"Oh, really?"

"Yep." Sora nodded triumphantly before jabbing an accusing finger in Riku's face. "You're a unicorn, aren't you, Riku?"

"…" Before Riku could so much as face-palm, Sora lunged around him without warning and hauled himself onto Riku's back.

"GIDDYUP!" The brunette bellowed, latching his legs around Riku's waist so he couldn't be shaken off.

"DAMMIT SORA!"

"ONWARD!"

"GET OFF ME!"

Sora made no move to get off of Riku's back and gave his hair a disciplinary yank. "You're awfully grumpy for a unicorn."

Deciding that resistance was futile, Riku sighed and took hold of Sora's legs, carrying him along the street like it was nothing.

"Hey, Riku?"

"Yes, Sora?"

"You'd make a pretty unicorn."

"Thank you, Sora."

The brunette hugged him around the shoulders, and they continued along in companionable silence for a few minutes before Sora scared the crap out of Riku by spasming and shouting out, "_There it is!"_

"GAH! SORA! WHAT?"

Sora pointed ahead of them, directing Riku's attention to a tall, colorful contraption that was marked in increments that were labeled things like "Grandma" and "Bodybuilder", with a flashing sign at the very top that read "_Test You Strength!_" Beside the contraption was a loud display with an equally flashy sign, "_Score 'Hercules' to Win a Range Tech Double Plus: Master Edition!" _Riku noticed that "Hercules" was posted at the very top of the machine—nearly twenty feet up the shaft.

"It's like, the _coolest _skateboard _ever," _Sora crooned, leaning over Riku's shoulder. "And it's _really expensive." _He climbed off Riku's back and they joined the moderate crowd of people surrounding the game. "I've been trying to win it for a while now. I just can't seem to hit it hard enough…"

As they and the other spectators watched, a man stepped before the contraption and accepted a huge, heavy mallet from the vendor. Using every muscle in his body, the man gave the mallet a mighty swing and brought it crashing down onto a pressure plate at the foot of the contraption. A big, red arrow went soaring up the levels, stopping just above the third level from the top ("Big Body") before falling down again. At first, the man seemed disappointed at not hitting the prize level, but the swarm of applause seemed to brighten his spirits as he returned the mallet and sauntered off.

"I came _really close_ last year," Sora was saying. "Almost as well as that guy. …Pretty impressive, huh, Riku?" He added that last part with a bit of vaunt, turning to the silverette for some kind of praise; but Riku wasn't about to humor him.

"Wait…You're actually going to do that?"

Sora's face fell. "Well…_yeah. _How else am I supposed to win that skateboard?"

"I dunno…I mean, what about your back—"

For the first time since Riku had met him, Sora's demeanor completely dissolved. He threw his hands up and rolled his eyes crossly. "_Not _this again!"

"C'mon, Sora—you could barely walk a straight line this morning, and now you honestly think I'm gonna let you swing around some giant hammer—"

"How many times do I have to _tell _you? My freaking back is _fine. _It hasn't bothered me since we left the house!"

"What if you throw it out again?"

Sora snorted. "You're making it sound like I'm some old guy. This isn't Mr. Jenkins we're talking about…"

"Sora, I'm serious. I don't want you to get hurt. Here, why don't I give it a try, and—"

"_No,_" Sora said firmly. "I'm doing this myself." With that he turned on his heel and started for the vendor, pausing just long enough to give Riku a warning shove when the other boy tried to stop him. "Sora, _please. _Just try and see it—" But it was no use. Sora was out of his reach and before long he had that ridiculously large mallet in his grasp. He and the vendor were laughing familiarly while Riku's stomach did an uncomfortable twist. The medics at the concert had said he'd be fine, but Riku had this terrible feeling that they must have missed something.

While his head was filling up with various and increasingly creative images of Sora getting himself maimed, the real Sora stepped up to the pressure plate, lugging the mallet behind him. He hefted it up in his grip and weighed it—gauging his swing. He seemed awfully focused, and for a second his eyes flicked over to Riku, and a new resolve settled into his face. He leered at the mallet in his hands, then at the pressure plate, then at the very highest level on the shaft. _Hercules._

Without warning Sora lifted the mallet up and gave it a test swing. Then, in a motion that seemed impossibly fluid, he hoisted the mallet over his head, spun it around and brought it crashing down onto the pressure plate with so much force that his feet left the ground. The red arrow went shooting up the shaft, flying past _Grandma _and _Bodybuilder, _up past _Big Body _and straight to _Hercules. _

But it didn't stop there. The mechanism pulling the arrow broke against the highest level, causing a piece of metal to go flying off the top of the mechanism with a loud, sharp _clang! _

Sora dropped the mallet and stared in awe like everyone else as if he hadn't been expecting to do that. One long moment of stunned silence drew over the crowd before it exploded with jubilated shouts and cheers and whistling. Sora got his skateboard, and after about fifteen minutes, Riku managed to get his jaw off the sidewalk.

* * *

**A/N: Baaaaaah shooooooort. But better than nothing, right? Chapter 19 will get here eventually. Review for a chakram cookie~ Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**DON'T GIVE UP ON ME! ;_;**

**-Slay**


	19. The Key to Success

**Disclaimer: I'm not making any money off of this. Trust me.**

**A/N: …There are no words. There are no words to describe how sorry I am for the accidental hiatus I seem to have taken. You guys probably thought I was dead. My bad. I love you guys more than you can possibly fathom! OTL If parts of this chapter are a little unwieldy, it's because I was listening to rap music while I wrote it, and that tends to make my thoughts disjointed. **

**Proofreading is for sissies and smart people.**

_**Bon à lire!**_

**-Slay**

* * *

_**A Day of Mercy**_

Chapter 19

The Key to Success

-o-o-o-

This was a lot harder than it looked.

…and he wasn't even the one doing it.

"No, I think your feet have to be level…" Riku muttered unhelpfully, bracing Sora's arms while the brunet wobbled back and forth on the skateboard.

"Oh, like _you _know anything about skateboarding," Sora bit back, concentrating on the way the deck was dipping under his heels and toes, making it hard to hold his balance. His grip on Riku's shoulders tightened as he tried to resituate his feet, but in the end the board got away from him, sending him pitching forward into Riku's waiting arms.

Once Sora was stable on his feet again, he huffed, watching the board roll away mockingly. Riku gave his arm a pat and went to retrieve the board.

"I can't believe you made all that fuss over a skateboard you don't even know how to ride."

Sora crossed his arms over his chest. "Well how am I s'posed to learn if I don't have a board?"

Riku rolled his eyes and scooped up the board, which was on its way behind a cluster of trashcans. It was true; he was neither an enthusiast nor an authority on skateboarding; but even he had to admit, the Range Tech was quite a piece of work (solid and sleek, its deck printed with smooth black and white fractals). He laid the board back on the pavement by Sora and stuck his foot under the front wheels so it couldn't roll. "C'mon, let's just work on your balance for now."

After digging their way out of the astounded throngs of people surrounding the strength game, Sora and Riku had retreated to a deserted residential street that sloped into a substantial hill (which, in his infinite optimism, Sora had decided to conquer by the end of the day).

It was a sizable undertaking, but after about ten minutes of dedicated practice, Sora had already overcome the balancing problem. Riku was actually starting to believe he might pull it off, if he kept excelling like this.

"Okay," Sora nodded carefully, motioning Riku back. "I think I got it. Lemme go."

Riku watched his friend slide along on the board in short bursts, smiling. Though as time continued to pass, he found his attention straying to the skyline constantly.

Soft, pre-dusk shadows were finally pressing in on them, sweeping the street with a heavy, orange light. The sun was starting to set. If he wanted to do this safely, they would have to leave soon. "…Hey, Sora—"

"WAH!"

Sora must have hit a bump or something, because out of nowhere he pitched over, hitting the ground as his board kept rolling—right down the massive hill behind them. Riku jogged over to help Sora up. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Sora got to his feet and stared forlornly at the slope of the hill. "Crud. I'll get it." With that he sprinted after the board, chasing it into an alleyway at the bottom of the hill.

Riku stuffed his hands in his pockets and waited, his eyes straying back up to the deepening sky.

"Incredible, isn't it? Being a creature whose very form relies on the rise and fall of the sun?"

Riku started and whirled around. He was neither happy nor surprised to find Kadaj leaning against the wall of an apartment building across the street with a knowing grin on his face. "I was wondering when you'd show up again."

"But of course we wouldn't _leave," _Kadaj crooned genially, spreading his arms wide. "Not without our beloved little brother."

Riku threw a quick glance down the hill, a bit concerned that Sora hadn't reappeared yet. "Don't call me that," he said absently, looking back at Kadaj. "I'm not your brother."

"Sure you are. It's written in your blood—"

"Look, whatever you and your cronies are up to, I'm not interested." He did his best to keep it out of his expression, but Riku was seriously starting to worry that Sora hadn't come back up the hill, especially if Kadaj was here. "It's all bad news."

"_Bad news," _Kadaj repeated, his tone aggravated. "Now where have I heard _that _before?" He started sauntering forward with a dangerous glint in his eye. "You know, your friend _Axel_ isn't exactly a saint," he sneered. "I'm sure if you knew the truth about him, you wouldn't trust him so blindly."

Riku's first instinct was to back away, but he decided hesitance of any kind was counterproductive with this guy. He forced himself not to glance down the hill again. "And what, I'm supposed to trust _you _blindly?"

"Well I _am _family."

This was getting ridiculous. Riku folded his arms and gave Kadaj a hard look. "No family of mine. Every time you show up something bad happens to someone I care about."

"That's because you care about the wrong people."

Okay, too far.

"Listen, you arrogant son of a bitch—" Riku lunged forward, ready to strangle the haughty grin off the bastard's face, but Kadaj vanished.

"Tsk, tsk, so shabby. So inexperienced." Kadaj had materialized behind him, shaking his head in disappointment. "Getting physical? Really?"

"How boorish," someone else chimed in, appearing at Riku's elbow. He whipped around to see Kadaj's long-haired henchman grinning sadistically at him. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us."

"Don't worry, little brother," Kadaj crooned warmly—_warmly _being a relative term. "Once we arrive at Whirlwind, we can show you how to fight properly. How to harness your powers."

"Whirlwind?"

"Yes," Kadaj jerked his chin up proudly. "Our home. A sort of…_sanctuary _for rare creatures such as ourselves. That's where your _real _family is, Riku. _Our _family. Our kind." He extended an inviting hand. "And they're waiting…for you."

As desirable as the notion may have seemed even a week before, Riku wasn't buying into this "family" nonsense. For him, family had stopped being about blood a _long _time ago. Blood ran out at the smallest cut, retreating in every available direction until none was left to keep the body alive—and life was full of cuts; cuts and gashes and gory dismemberment of every horrible kind. So no, blood wasn't nearly reliable enough. There had to be more to it than blood, and when he saw these three hacks pretending to be his brothers, he saw nothing. The only promise they could make was that they shared the same twisted genes, and that was hardly what he would call glamorous.

"Since when was I so special?" Riku hissed, glaring down Kadaj's offered hand until it lowered.

"You've always been special," Kadaj said simply, not perturbed in the slightest. "Since the day you were born."

"But…?"

Something unpleasant slipped into Kadaj's feral eyes, his mouth raising in a quick sneer. "But Kira made a stupid mistake and dragged you down with him," he snapped. "He rejected the clan and left _you _to pay the price. He's the reason you got separated from us—"

As Kadaj's temper began to flare, Yazoo swept in with a soothing tone, his voice was a sickly-smooth as ever, "Don't you understand, little brother? All those years, all those _decades _alone…feeling miserable and unwanted, _rejected, _outcast…It all could have been avoided. …If only you had been with us. Where you belong."

"Uncle could have taught you so much," Kadaj added thickly, bitterly. "We all could have grown up together, the way siblings are supposed to—alongside the other clans. You could have been part of our family this entire time, if only Kira hadn't double-crossed us—"

"_Listen," _Riku cut in harshly. "He may not have been the 'world's best parent', but my father wasn't an idiot. If he left your little _Dungeons and Dragons Glee Club, _I'm sure he had a good reason for it." Riku crossed his arms and stood his ground. "So, if you want me to join up that badly, you'll have to persuade me the old-fashioned way."  
Kadaj and Yazoo exchanged, dark, unsatisfied looks before turning their sharp eyes back to him.

"Very well."

-o-o-o-

"Well where'd ya go, you stupid—oh, there you are!"

Sora arrived at the bottom of the hill just in time to see the Range Tech toddle off into a nearby alley. He darted after it, careful not to crash into a huddle of trashcans around the corner, and passed into the alley where he was greeted by an unexpected sight.

The first thing he saw was his Range Tech, only it wasn't bumping casually into a brick wall, or rattling against more trashcans—it was hung up under the arm of an unfamiliar man, with a curt flurry of silver hair and a mean-looking smile on his face.

"Er…Sorry, that's mine…" Sora muttered, reaching awkwardly toward the board, but not quite having the nerve to grab it. "It rolled down the hill, and I came to get it back…If you don't mind…"

"Oh, this?" The man gave a heavy, mocking laugh. "Sure, kid, sure." He lifted the board up and looked it over. "It's nice," he smirked. "Must'a cost a fortune, huh?"

Sora couldn't help twiddling his fingers a little, nervous about the man's strong, insensitive grip on his precious skateboard. "Yeah…well, actually…I won it…at the festival just up the road…"

"Yeah? What game'd ya play?"

Sora could feel the back of his neck heating up in a small, humiliated kind of way, because this guy was tall and pretty built, and would probably laugh when Sora said, "The, uh…the 'Test Your Strength' game. With the mallet…?"

"No kidding?" The man gave the Range Tech another cursory look, a thin appreciation stretching across his face. Sora really didn't like the way he was handling the board—it seemed all too likely that he might try and break it. The man's gaze then swung over to Sora himself, and his neck got hot all over again because he could clearly see another laugh swimming up through the man's features. "Don't tell me _you're _the one that broke the bell," he jeered.

"I didn't do it on purpose," Sora mumbled, but this only seemed to amuse the stranger more—he started on a full-out guffaw at the idea of Sora doing such a thing.

"You gotta be joking," he howled. "A punk like you? Heh—So I guess ya must be pretty strong, eh lil' fella?"

This was starting to get old. Sora tightened his hands into fists and grimaced. "Can I just have my board back?"

"I didn't hear the magic word…"

Sora huffed. "Can I have my board back _please?"_

"Not if you're gonna be a little shit about it."

"Come on, man…" Sora made a more determined snatch at the board, but the man just held it out of his reach.

"How 'bout we play a little game," the man smirked, continuing to hold the board high over Sora's head. "I'll give ya the stupid board back, if you beat me in a fight. Shouldn't be too hard for a _stud _like you, eh?"

Sora frowned. "I'm not fighting you over a skateboard. If you want it that badly—"

"Oh, I don't wanna skateboard, punk." The man hurled the board back across the alley, where it snapped against the wall with a loud _crack _that made Sora wince. "I just wanna _fight."_

Sora barely had time to throw himself out of the way—a tight fist came hurtling forward, missing him by inches and smashing into the pavement, sharp bolts of hot green curling over the man's fist like lightning. Sora yelped, the man's fist coming at him again and punching a crater in the alley wall where his head had been half a second earlier. This continued, Sora darting from spot to spot, narrowly avoiding a very painful, very messy death.

"What is your _problem?!" _He managed to gasp as he rolled out from under another attack.

"Don't you remember?" The man growled, swinging at him in a wanton rage.

"Remember _what? _I've never seen you before!"

The man kept coming at him with brutal throws, his hits getting harder and harder to miss. "The last time we tangoed, you gave me a _present," _he snarled, holding out his ungloved hand, where a nasty scar was visible behind the ridge of his knuckles.

"You're crazy," Sora insisted, jumping from side to side as the man chased him backward, quickly boxing him in at the end of the alleyway. "You're confusing me with somebody else."

"I am not!" The man bellowed, charging Sora with a crackling hand cocked back. Sora bumped into the ragged brick wall at the end of the alley. There was nothing for it—he was trapped. Time seemed to drag into an agonizing crawl, the man coming closer and closer with the death blow, and Sora helpless to avoid it. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to be afraid. Alive like a wire, but not fearful. In fact, he felt quite the opposite. Something akin to confidence was swelling in his chest—a humming knot of energy that was working its way up through his skin.

His assailant was practically on top of him now, the electricity flickering like madness in his eyes. The killer punch was coming in closer and closer, faster and faster—and Sora moved. He swept his hand through the air with a flash of light, the sharp ring of metal, and without even realizing it, he had met the man's blow, holding that crackling fist at bay with a weapon that had only just appeared in his grasp.

He wasn't even sure he could call it a "weapon"—it certainly wasn't like any weapon _he'd _ever seen.

What Sora was now holding in his hand, wielding against the weight of his opponent's blow, was a massive skeleton key the size of a long sword, complete with sharp teeth and a yellow hilt. When he saw it, Sora had confusion to spare, but now wasn't the time for musing over how a weird sort of key-type blade-thing had magically appeared in his hands. Right now he had to focus on not dying.

The key was heavier than it looked—almost as heavy as the Test Your Strength mallet, but Sora found he could manage it if he minded his balance. He seized the opportunity to knock his assailant back, falling into a defensive stance, holding his giant key at the ready.

The man didn't seem pleased with this new development, and gave the key a nasty look. "What the hell is that?"

"I don't know," Sora admitted. "But I've got a feeling it's gonna help me beat you." That was the truth—as strange as the key was, he felt a commanding boost of strength with it in his hands. "Back out now and I'll let you go."

A heavy laugh rumbled out of the man's chest. "Yeah, right. I'm not goin' anywhere, ya little _punk!" _With that the man charged again with a renewed vigor; but Sora was ready this time.

He wouldn't even question how the motions came to him so easily—the counters, the parries, the slashes the blocks. It took no thought, he just had to keep moving and let the motions come, clean and quick like he'd been performing them his entire life. Before he knew it he had his opponent on the defensive, knocking him back again and again until they emerged from the alley, the man finally losing steam as Sora continued to lay into him with fluid swings of his key. A finishing blow smashed the man into a nearby wall with a surprising amount of force—he crumpled to the ground, barely conscious, the lightning fading from his fists.

Finally starting to feel a strain in his arms, Sora sighed and straightened up, lugging the key onto his shoulder and watching his fallen assailant carefully.

"I don't know what your problem is," he said, breathing slightly labored. "And I don't care. Stay away from me. Next time I won't go so easy on you."

"That's some big talk…punk…" the man grumbled, barely able to lift his head for a proper glare.

Sora didn't say anything. After a moment the man wilted completely, and Sora was sure he'd finally tapped out. He glanced back into the alley where the Range Tech had been discarded, and then at the massive key propped on his shoulder, and decided that there were more pressing matters than learning to skateboard. Since he had nowhere better to put it, he kept the key balanced on his shoulder as he trekked up the slope of the hill.

"Riku! Hey, Riku, you won't believe what just…Riku?" When Sora came over the crest of the hill, what he saw wasn't pretty.

The first thing he saw were blast marks—explosions of char ground into the pavement and the backs of surrounding shops. Great rifts had been torn in the road, rubble scattered across the street, trashcans and signage all wrecked and scattered. Then he saw Riku, braced against a wall and cradling his left arm, slowly buckling under some invisible pressure.

"_Riku!" _Sora dropped the key without a second thought and rushed to his friend's side. "What-What happened to you?" As he came closer, the extent of Riku's injuries became clearer; ugly dark bruises and freshly bleeding gashes littered his skin, not to mention his arm which was obviously out of commission.

"Those freaks from the concert showed up…" Was all Riku managed at first. Sora guarded him worriedly as he slid down the wall, coming to rest on the ground with his bum arm in his lap. "I chased them off, but they'll be back…You need to get out of here."

"Okay—let's go." Sora made to grab Riku's good arm to help him up, but the other boy gasped the second their skin touched and cringed away. Sora winced. Was he really hurt that badly? "Riku…"

"Just...Go get help," Riku grunted, inching farther away, under the shade of a toppled awning. "I'll wait here."

"But what if they come back—"

"I said _go."_

Startled and a little hurt, Sora nodded and got to his feet, extremely uneasy about leaving Riku alone in his condition. "Wait right there, Riku. I'll be back soon. I-I promise!" He whipped around to retrieve the key, only to find that it had disappeared. He let the thought slip from his mind—he had more important things to worry about. After one more terrified glance at his wounded friend, Sora took off up the street, his head spinning.

_Hold on, Riku. I'll be right back. Just hold on…_

* * *

**A/N: Sorry guys I broke Riku. WHAT WILL BECOME OF HIM? WILL SORA GET HELP IN TIME? WHAT HAPPENED DURING RIKU'S FIGHT WITH THE REMNANTS? TUNE IN NEXT (week/month/year) FOR THE THRILLING**** NEXT CHAPTER OF…**_**A DAY OF MERCY! DFJEWFOIWEJFODIJVOWIGLEKJDFKLJWEOFJEIOFDVJM**_

**Review for a chakram cookie~**

**Flame for a chakram to the face!**

**Toodles~**

**-Slay**


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